The International Space Station was built so that it can accommodate six permanent crew members, but this will soon change with no need for any additional costs or expand the capacity of the ISSA. Planned additional seventh crew member.
Robonauti as a new crew to the ISS
Humanoid, humanoid robots are now a reality. The U.S. space agency, in cooperation with private companies, including the automotive giant General Motors, has developed a new generation of Humanoid robot named R2.
The recently published information, NASA will be the last shuttle Discovery mission later this year to deliver a specially prepared ISS robot-astronaut (robonaut!) for weightless conditions prevailing at the ISS.
Model R2, which has not yet received its specific name will have a head, arms and torso. Mass of several tens of kilograms of this robot will be equipped with all systems that are required for autonomous operation and collaboration with a human crew members aboard the space station. Initially robonaut will be located in the Destiny module. This type of robot designed to look and work like a man. Although this project is actually a test and research on how the behavior of robots interacting with humans in future missions, robonautu is paid great attention. An important additional task of the human crew ISSU will be the perception, and learning how to work with robots, and robots learning how to work with people.
According to John Olson, director of NASA's Exploration Systems Integration, the potential of working together humans and robots is essential for the further development of astronautics and the exploration of other worlds and combined missions. Worlds that man will never see it will be investigated by robonauta. The foundations of this work is that in the near future are created right from this mission. Very quickly the new models and variants of types R2 will receive legs (the ISSU they do not need), so that just as people can walk, sit, powerful robot arm with a subtle senses to take a pebble from the Moon or Mars soil and tested it on the spot various devices ..
The current R2, which is preparing for the ISS is equipped with a system of protection against cosmic radiation, and could not be used outside the station. It will have to do some of his successors! Maybe R2D2? (Remember Star Wars, author's note).
Marino Tumpić