Skip to main content

NASA to equip Robonaut with (very long) legs in 2014 upgrade

space stations robonaut takes delivery of legs robonaut2
Image used with permission by copyright holder

While we patiently await news of how recent Japanese International Space Station arrival Koichi Wakata is getting along with talking-robot Kirobo on board the habitable satellite, NASA has been showing off the latest developments with its own Robonaut humanoid.

Robonaut, in case you weren’t aware, is a highly dexterous robot-astronaut that since 2011 has been helping on the ISS with various tests and tasks. He even finds time to send out the occasional tweet.

Unfortunately for Robonaut, his movement is severely restricted by the fact that he currently sits atop a fixed pedestal. However, that’s all set to change, as the humanoid, the result of a NASA collaboration with General Motors, is about to get its first pair of fully functioning legs. And they’re massive.robonaut-with-legs

Once fixed up, Robonaut will be strolling around the space station at eight-feet tall, and possibly banging his head a lot as he goes.

Currently based on terra firma, astronaut Cady Coleman, who first set up Robonaut on the ISS two years ago, told ABC News recently she could now see a lot more potential for robots in space.

Adding legs to Robonaut means he’ll be able to make his way around the space station independently and in a more controlled manner, as well as have the ability to move across lunar and Martian terrain, though such planet-exploring missions are thought to be some way off.

Engineers will have to be confident Robonaut’s legs are in perfect working order before sending him to the ISS. “His legs are going to be really, really long,” Coleman says. “He has to be able to stretch through the hatches on the space station between modules. He is going to walk more like an antelope than take little steps.”

It’s hoped that a fully developed Robonaut will one day be able to assist astronauts with challenging or dangerous tasks regardless of environmental conditions. 

There are actually four Robonauts in operation, with one on the ISS. If NASA has a basketball team in an inter-company league, it might want to consider getting the three on the ground involved once those legs are attached.

[ABC News via engadget]

 

Editors' Recommendations

Trevor Mogg
Contributing Editor
Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…
Spacewalk a success as astronauts upgrade batteries on the ISS
iss spacewalk battery upgrade exp59 spacewalker mcclain hague 032219 1

NASA astronauts Nick Hague (top) and Anne McClain work to swap batteries in the Port-4 truss structure during the spacewalk. NASA

The International Space Station (ISS) was treated to some new batteries on Friday, thanks to the NASA astronauts who took a spacewalk for nearly seven hours in order to complete the upgrades.

Read more
NASA’s historic first all-female spacewalk outside the ISS slated for March 29
nasa first all female spacewalk

NASA is about to make history on March 29 with the first all-female spacewalk outside the International Space Station. Canadian Space Agency and NASA flight controller Kristen Facciol, who will be providing support on the ground, shared the exciting news on Twitter. Initially planned for last fall, this walk was delayed and somewhat fortuitously scheduled for Women's History Month, which celebrates the contributions of women both in history and modern society.

NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Christina Koch are suiting up for the female-only walk, a seven-hour extravehicular mission that will be broadcast on NASA TV. McClain boarded the ISS in December while Koch will arrive March 14 on the Roscosmos Soyuz spacecraft along with fellow NASA astronaut Nick Hague and cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin. It's an exciting time of firsts for both women. This is the first ISS spacewalk for McClain and the first spaceflight for Koch.

Read more
SpaceX teams with NASA on its first crewed spacecraft trip to the ISS
spacex falcon 9 rollout 1

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the Crew Dragon spacecraft onboard is rolled onto the launch pad at Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA/Joel Kowsky

In a joint project between NASA and SpaceX, the Crew Dragon spacecraft was successfully launched before dawn today. The craft will be traveling to the International Space Station (ISS) with supplies for the ISS crew and a dummy passenger to test the safety of eventually ferrying real passengers. This was SpaceX's first launch of a crewed spaceship, and the launch was such a success that it almost brought CEO Elon Musk to tears.

Read more