Not every worker aboard the International Space Station is a human. As a matter of fact, not every worker is an organic life-form. Hundreds of miles above Earth, floating right next to trained astronauts in this space-borne laboratory, you’ll find Honey, Queen and Bumble.
They’re NASA’s flying robot helpers known as the Astrobees.
First launched to space in 2018, each cube-shaped, 12.5-inch-wide member of the trio is responsible for aiding ISS dwellers with important — yet often tedious — tasks like taking inventory, documenting experiments with built-in cameras or transporting cargo throughout the station. Honey and Bumble went up first, and were soon followed by Queen.
“In addition to making spaceflight safer and more cost effective, robotic assistants like the Astrobees could manage routine chores to free up humans for more complex work,” NASA said. One day, these space bots might even blast off with astronauts on future missions to the moon, aka NASA’s Artemis endeavor, Mars and, potentially, deep space.
They’ve now reached a milestone in their journey. NASA said last week that two Astrobees — Queen and Bumble — successfully operated independently, side by side with their mortal associates. “In past experiments,” NASA said, “the robots have operated one at a time or have needed more hands-on support from their human colleagues.”
Recent Comments