April 2012 American Way Magazine (2) - page 30

I
CLOCKWISEFROMLEFT:NASA/JPL-CALTECH;NASA (2)
SCIENCE
DomoArigato,
Mr.Roboto
Mechanical explorers
aremaking their
markonextraplanetary
explorationand
proving that the
FUTUREOFSPACE
dependsonmachines.
’ , 240 ,
android iscomingonline.
The humans call their mechanical crewmate
Robonaut2(R2),andthere’sneverbeenanythingquite
likehim.Unlikemost robots,he’sbuilt inhuman form:
a torso, tobeexact,with two longarms tippedwithfive
fingers each.Hishead contains a slewof cameras and
an infrared, heat-detecting sensor, all hiddenbehinda
reflectivevisor.
R2’screwmatesarecalibratingthemachine forwork
in space. Thingsdon’t take the samee›ort
withoutgravity,sohisprogrammingandme-
chanicalsettingsneedtobecalibratedforhis
zero-glifeinorbit.Whenthat’sdone,R2will
gettowork, likelyperformingtaskslikemon-
itoringequipment,adjustingdialsanddoing
simplemaintenance. In the future, NASA
plansongiving the330-pound robot apair
oflegssohecanmovearoundhishome—the
International SpaceStation (ISS)—always
attached toabulkhead topreventhim from
floatingawayorgettingdamaged.
“This is a really goodopportunity toun-
derstand the interface between humans
and roboticshere in space,” saidCatherine
Coleman,aformerISScrewmember,during
an interview from the space stationwhen
theandroidarrived.
A robot with the same dimensions as
a humanhas advantages, like being able
to access the same space as people and
having theability touse standard tools in
theiranthropomorphichands.The lackof
a need for specialized equipmentmakes
it easier to bring these robots into space,
whereeachpoundofgearcosts$10,000 to
launch intoorbit.
“This project exemplifies the promise
that a futuregenerationof robots canhave
both in spaceandonEarth, not as replace-
ments forhumansbut as companions that
can carry out key supporting roles,” says
JohnOlson,directorofNASA’sExploration
SystemsIntegrationO°ce.
ButR2 isn’t theonlymechanical being
aimingtoprovethatrobotsbelong inspace.
GASSINGUP INORBIT
R2has other robotic crewmates on the In-
ternational SpaceStation. Theydon’t look
like theirhumancounterparts, but theydo
thekindofworkthatcouldkillanastronaut,
LEFT: NASA’sCuriosity in theMarsScience
Lab RIGHT: R2 in theDestiny laboratoryof the
International SpaceStation BELOW: anartist’s
concept ofDextreapproaching theRobotic
RefuelingMissionmodule
30 APRIL 15, 2012 AA.COM/AMERICANWAY