NASA launches robots from space station "Astrobee"

The population of the International Space Station (ISS) has increased, but new residents are not human beings. Last month, several small cube-shaped robots arrived and NASA released an image of the Astrobee robot working aboard the space station.

NASA delivered the Astrobee robots to the ISS on April 17 as part of a Northrop Grumman replenishment mission. The robot of the image is called "Bumble". Two other appliances of the same model, "Honey" and "Queen", were designed. The Astrobee system was designed and built at NASA's Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley, specifically for use onboard the ISS. On Earth, robots use wheels, steps or legs to move, but none of this is good in space. Astrobee robots fly freely and are able to bypass the ISS using small electric fans at the request of ground control or station astronauts.

NASA's goal with Bumble and her siblings is to automate some of the station's basic tasks, allowing astronauts to do things that only humans can do. In fact, a small robot specifically designed for use on the station could make some of these subordinate tasks more effective. The Astrobee robots form a square foot with cameras and built-in sensors that allow them to inventory, document experiments, inspect ISS systems and transport cargo in the station's narrow corridors.

An astrobee on the ground.

In the newly released image, NASA astronaut Anne McClain conducts the first tests on Bumble. This is a simple check of the robot's hardware and its host module. Whenever the robots run out of juice, they go back to the dock and recharge. Bumble is not the first robot to live on the ISS. The team had a robot called CIMON last year, but it was an experimental AI companion robot that did not have much real utility. The astronauts also had the SPHERES robots on the station during the last decade. These robots helped NASA understand how robots can move around the station and help astronauts. Their use is currently very limited, but NASA plans to replace SPHERES with Astrobees as soon as the tests are complete.

The hope is that robots such as Bumble, Honey and Queen will be able to perform maintenance on spacecraft in the absence of humans or in inaccessible areas. This could be essential for future missions on the Moon, Mars and beyond.

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