Scientists power up Robonaut 2
August 24th, 2011 - 1:04 am ICT by Aishwarya BhattHouston, Aug 23 (THAINDIAN NEWS) Scientists powered Robonaut 2 for the first time on Monday at the International Space Station. The two armed experimental robot was flown to ISS last February aboard NASA’s STS-133 mission.
NASA station astronaut Mike Fossum told Mission Control that, “Everyone has been waiting with great anticipation [for] Robonaut’s coming out.” Shortly after that, the robot was powered with electricity as engineers evaluated the efficiency of the machine.
After the test, Fossum joked that, “He has been groveling in his storage location here in the lab. He’s complained bitterly that he wants to get out and get to work. Well, today is finally the day.”
R2 is the result of a collaboration between NASA and General Motors. President Barack Obama reportedly told NASA scientists that R2 should be activated as soon as possible. NASA has several tasks for the robot but they ultimately want it to be able to make a spacewalk.
R2’s predecessor was R1 which was launched into space in 1997. The robot was involved in several pace activities including exploring the lunar terrains.
R2 will work with humans in the future to explore the Martian moons near-earth objects. The robot will also be involved in exploration of Mars.
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Tags: anticipation, astronaut mike fossum, barack obama, earth objects, experimental robot, exploration of mars, general motors, international space station, martian moons, mission nasa, nasa, nasa scientists, nasa station, pace activities, predecessor, r2, robonaut, storage location, sts, terrains