I think this idea could have easily fallen into the escort mission trap where the player doesn't feel invested in protecting their charge. But by making the robot visibly play a role and incrementally reward the player it avoids that feeling completely, and it really hits the nail on the head for the "cooperate" part of the theme to boot. Combined with the adorable visuals you really have an excellent entry, I would love to see this concept expanded to different planets and different resources.