VilaWeb - Diari escola: R2: The First Space Robot

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dijous, 26 de desembre de 2024

> A tweeting android

> Robonaut's new home

> Next stop: the Moon

dijous, 2 de desembre de 2010

Robonaut 2 (R2, for short) is the human-shaped robot destined to be the first of its kind to travel into space.

The android will form part of the crew on the STS-133 mission, which will soon launch aboard the space shuttle Discovery, possibly as early as 17 December.

On this , it will travel to the International Space Station (ISS) where the first thing the astronauts plan to do on arrival is study Robonaut's behaviour, so that it will eventually be able to help them with the station's maintenance tasks, as well as with scientific research.

Robonaut is the result of a joint project between the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the car manufacturers General Motors (GM). The idea is that the humanoid shall stay on board the ISS and not return to Earth.

+ Wikipedia: Robonaut.

A tweeting android

+ Robonaut 2 has its own account in Twitter. Photographer: Joe Bibby.

Designed from the waist up (it still does not have any legs or feet), Robonaut 2 has a human-like appearance, and the idea is that it will be able to use the same tools as humans. It can move its head up and down, and from left to right. It cannot speak, but it can communicate over the Internet via the very popular social networking service: Twitter.

Robonaut's new home

+ Robonaut's new home will be the International Space Station. Photographer: Joe Bibby.

As previously mentioned, Robonaut's new home will be the International Space Station, a kind of space-city that orbits the Earth at a distance of 360 km. This station, the size of a football pitch, will finally be finished next year. However, it has been continuously inhabited by humans for the last ten years and has been visited by a total of 200 astronauts from some 15 countries.

Next stop: the Moon

+ Project M aims to send an android to the Moon within 1,000 days.

NASA now faces the challenge of building robots that can take part in space exploration, especially in those missions that are too risky for humans. In fact, sending Robonaut to the International Space Station is just the first step in a much larger scheme: Project M, which aims to send an android to the Moon within 1,000 days.

MATERIALS

Robonaut
Format:Web
Pàgina de la NASA sobre aquest androide, el primer que anirà a l'espai.
STS-133 Educator Resources
Format:Web
Pàgina educativa de la missió que portarà Robonaut a l'espai.
'El segle dels robots'
Format:PDF
Dossier sobre robots del setmanari Presència (març del 2010).
What is a robot?
Format:Web
Guia de l'espai juvenil de la BBC, Newsround (maig del 2005).

QUE HO SABIES?

Robonaut does not 'think' with its head, but rather with its stomach, as this is where its 'brain', made up of around 40 PC processors, is located.
The International Space Station has already taken on board the first ever space tourists; people with enough money to be able to afford a luxury extraterrestrial holiday.