The narrative discusses several robots developed by NASA with unique capabilities.
Robonaut 2, the first humanoid robot sent to space, spent four years on the International Space Station before a malfunction forced it to remain inactive for three more years. It is set to return to the space station after repairs.
Dragonfly, a multirotor vehicle, is NASA's first robot to set foot on another planet, Titan, Saturn's largest moon. Its mission is to search for the ingredients for life and evidence of past liquid water.
LEMUR, or Limbed Excursion Mechanical Utility Robot, was designed as a repair robot for the International Space Station. It has four limbs and uses artificial intelligence to scale walls and avoid obstacles.
The Ice Worm, derived from a LEMUR limb, is a squiggly robot designed to drill into ice and collect samples.
RoboSimian, a humanoid robot designed for disaster relief, has the same four limbs as LEMUR but with wheels instead of grippy feet. It's being developed for icy environments like Saturn's moon Enceladus.
Micro-climbers, smaller versions of LEMUR, use fishhook technology or gecko-like adhesive to navigate rough surfaces.
The Mars 2020 Rover, a famous robot heading to Mars, is based on Curiosity, the NASA rover that landed on Mars in 2012. It will search for habitable conditions and signs of life.
Inside the Mars Rover will be MOXIE, or the Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment, which aims to prove it can make oxygen on Mars.
The Mars Chopper, a small, solar-powered helicopter, aims to prove heavier-than-air vehicles can fly on other planets.
Lastly, the Astrobees, Honey, Queen, and Bumble, are free-floating robots designed to assist astronauts in daily tasks like taking inventory or moving cargo.
1. In February 2011, the International Space Station (ISS) was home to six astronauts and one humanoid robot, NASA's Robonaut 2, the first of its kind ever sent to space.
2. Robonaut 2 spent about four years on the ISS before it had a hardwire malfunction in 2015. It remained broken until NASA retrieved it in 2018.
3. The ISS has a number of other robots, including Dragonfly, a multirotor vehicle from NASA that will set foot on another planet, specifically Titan, Saturn's largest moon.
4. Dragonfly is part robot, part space drone, and will make a 759,000-mile eight-year journey to Titan. It is set to launch in 2026 and will not arrive until 2034.
5. LEMUR (Limbed Excursion Mechanical Utility Robot) is another robot developed by NASA. It has four limbs and was originally conceived as a repair robot for the ISS.
6. The Ice Worm is a robot derived from a single LEMUR limb. It moves by scrunching and un-scrunching, like an inchworm.
7. The RoboSimian, another robot, was originally designed as a disaster-relief robot. It has the same four limbs as LEMUR but has wheels made with piano wire that help it roll over uneven ground.
8. The Mars 2020 Rover, arguably the most famous robot on its way to Mars, is about the size of a car and is based on Curiosity, the NASA rover that landed on Mars in 2012.
9. Inside the Mars Rover will be a little MOXIE (Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment), which will prove it can make oxygen on Mars for fuel and breathing.
10. The Mars Chopper, a small, solar-powered helicopter, will be the first in history to prove heavier-than-air vehicles can fly on other planets.
11. There are three Astrobees: Honey, Queen, and Bumble. Bumble and Honey shot up to the Space Station in April 2019, and Queen followed in July.
12. The Astrobees were designed to alleviate some of the more routine tasks that astronauts complete daily, like taking inventory or moving cargo.