Summary Draft 2: Astrobee A

In the article “Astrobee Will Find Astronauts’ Lost Socks”, Ackerman (2021) describes Astrobee, a robot in charge of the maintenance of the empty Gateway, which is a permanent space station that serves as a rest stop for astronauts.

The article stated that Astrobee could locate the designated position, detect foreign objects’ blockage, request assistance for blockage clearance, and build a detailed “multi-sensor 3D map”. Astrobee managed to disentangle itself from stray wires and cables, cope with communication interference, and complete all tasks with minimal help. However, NASA requires robots to manage situations that call for physical intervention.

As Astrobee was not created to manipulate, it will require the assistance of Robonaut 2, who is designed to carry out many chores like an astronaut. Additionally, there are other robots such as GITAI’s arm that will be involved in testing on the international space station (ISS). In hopes of having the ISS and Gateway entirely dependent on the maintenance of robots, the integrated system for autonomous and adaptive caretaking projects will be more reliant on robotic autonomy so that humans will have a base prepared in space.

NASA’s decision to include Astrobee in Gateway, the uncrewed space station, effectively takes over astronaut tasks to keep the spacecraft safe and habitable for human arrival.

To complete tasks that were initially made to be done by humans, Astrobee is armed with practical components. To keep the space station in a usable condition, Astrobee has to carry out in-flight maintenance such as frequent inspection, routine maintenance, and contingency response. Marks (2019) states that the Astrobee can plug in several valuable features such as a robotic arm, a sensing system that provides continuous monitoring, or a barcode reader for inventory taking. Depending on the type of task assigned, they can detect the blockage of foreign objects, and also, with the robot arm, they can hold and deliver items when necessary.

Another reason why Astrobee is effective in keeping the Gateway unmanned is due to its multiple surveillance features. The article, Internet of Things in Space: A Review of Opportunities and Challenges from Satellite-Aided Computing to Digitally-Enhanced Space Living (2021), revealed that while Astrobee goes on with their daily tasks, they are capable of documenting their actions with their built-in cameras. To provide real-time updates and monitoring of Astrobee, the robots are equipped with mobile camera views to record and store the videos while providing live streaming of their activity.

Astrobee can work independently and together as a group, allowing them to accomplish tasks that are difficult for them to handle alone. Astrobee is made shaped like a cube. They are small and size 32 cm wide thus may encounter difficulty delivering too big parts. To counter that, Astrobee is made to collaborate and work with one another to get their job done. Gonzalez (2019) asserted that when the Astrobee is required to handle or transport larger objects around the ISS, Astrobee could team up and work together to manoeuvre the component. After, the robots could split up and resume their daily assignment autonomously.

However, despite the great things Astrobee could do, the robot also holds some risks. Although Astrobee is programmed to halt when an obstacle is detected, there may still be a risk of collision. When colliding with Astrobee, there is a chance that it may crash onto surfaces of the spacecraft, such as the windows, causing damage to the ship. Therefore, the article, Astrobee: A New Tool for ISS Operations (2018) revealed that they had added “corner bumpers and foam padding” to minimise the damage of this risk as much as possible.

Astrobee serves as an effective tool that is capable enough to maintain Gateway in replacement of the actual crew. They can set up the spacecraft before and after for the visiting astronauts. At present, Astrobees are still actively working out in space. To further revolutionise and depend on robots, Astrobee will be one of the key players.



References:

Ackerman (2021)
Ackerman, E. (n.d.). Astrobee Will Find Astronauts’ Lost Socks.
https://spectrum.ieee.org/astrobee-nasa-gateway

Marks (2019)
Marks, P., 2019. Robots aim to boost astronaut efficiency. Communications of the ACM, [online] 62(12), pp.16-18.
https://dl.acm.org/doi/fullHtml/10.1145/3365585

Kua J, Loke SW, Arora C, Fernando N, Ranaweera C (2021)
Kua J, Loke SW, Arora C, Fernando N, Ranaweera C. Internet of Things in Space: A Review of Opportunities and Challenges from Satellite-Aided Computing to Digitally-Enhanced Space Living. Sensors. 2021; 21(23):8117.
https://doi.org/10.3390/s21238117

Gonzalez (2019)
Gonzalez. (2019). NASA’S ASTROBEES: FUTURE SPACE ASSISTANTS. Mechanical Engineering (New York, N.Y. 1919), 141(11), 12–.
https://singaporetech.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/65SIT_INST/1qe4ih4/cdi_gale_businessinsightsgauss_A606138060

Bualat et al (2018)
Bualat, M., Smith, T., Smith, E., Fong, T. and Wheeler, D., 2018. Astrobee: A New Tool for ISS Operations. 2018 SpaceOps Conference,
https://arc.aiaa.org/doi/pdf/10.2514/6.2018-2517