For the first time, NASA robots work together on the International Space Station

Not all workers aboard the International Space Station are human. In fact, not every worker is an organic life form. Hundreds of miles above Earth, floating alongside trained astronauts in this space lab, you’ll find Honey, Queen and Bumble.

They are NASA’s flying robot helpers known as the Astrobees.

First launched into space in 2018, each member of the 12.5-inch-wide, cube-shaped trio is responsible for assisting the inhabitants of the ISS with important but often tedious tasks, such as taking inventory, documenting experiments with built-in cameras, or transporting cargo across the ISS. the whole station. Honey and Bumble went up first, and were soon followed by Queen.

“In addition to making spaceflight safer and more profitable, robotic assistants like the Astrobees could handle routine tasks to free up humans for more complex jobs,” NASA said. One day, these space robots could even blast off with astronauts on future missions to the moon. also known as NASA’s Artemis endeavorMars and potentially deep space.

You have now reached a milestone in your journey. NASA said last week that two Astrobees, Queen and Bumble, successfully operated independently, side by side with their deadly associates. “In previous experiments,” NASA said, “robots either operated one at a time or needed more hands-on support from their human colleagues.”

Below you can see footage of the duo hard at work alongside astronauts Raja Chari and Matthias Maurer.

In the foreground, the mint green Queen is capturing her first 360-degree panoramic image of the interior of the ISS, according to NASA. Farther out, you can see a baby blue Bumble testing her navigational abilities in what’s known as the Harmony module. an on-board service center — and the collection of mapping data from new stations. Pastel yellow Honey must have had duties elsewhere.

Both experiments, according to the agency, are part of the Integrated System for Autonomous and Adaptive Care Project, the organization that oversees the Astrobee system. ISAAC researchers are also in charge of the docking stations for these robot helpers, where they return to rest, relax and literally recharge when their battery is low.

But beyond teaching the standard spacecraft monitoring and maintenance capabilities of Astrobees, the ISAAC team is trying to make these robots as autonomous as possible, although, in particular, the Astrobees can be manually controlled remotely when needed. necessary. That’s because, later on, spacecraft like the Moon Gate The space station “will be unmanned all year long, and will need intelligent, autonomous robots to keep an eye on things while humans are away,” NASA said.

These droids aren’t the first synthetic workers to grace Earth’s orbit. His legacy builds on that of NASA sphere robots, who have coexisted with scientists in space for more than a decade. Although the spheres serve a fairly similar purpose to the Astrobees, they are built using older technology and, as their name suggests, are somewhat round. Eventually, the Astrobees are destined to take over from Spheres, giving their predecessors a well-earned retirement.

As of April, the agency reported that the Astrobees operated for more than 750 hours on the ISS, completed more than 100 activities, and proved capable of feats “previously in the realm of science fiction,” such as successfully reporting and investigating simulated anomalies. aboard the station, all on their own.

Last year, for example, astronauts tinkered with the station’s life support systems to detect a (fake) super-high concentration of carbon dioxide. Bumble quickly realizedsailed around the ISS to find out what was wrong, actually found the problem (a fake “sock” blocking a vent) and called for help.

It’s almost as if Honey, Bumble, and Queen are slowly paving the way for humanity itself. TARS, CASE and KIPP.