In the article “Astrobee Will Find Astronauts’ Lost Socks”, Ackerman (2021) described Astrobees as robots in charge of maintaining the empty Gateway. This permanent space station serves as a rest stop for astronauts travelling to the moon. The article stated that Astrobees could locate the designated position as requested, detect foreign objects blocking the way, request assistance for blockage clearance, and build a detailed “multi-sensor 3D map”. Astrobees managed to disentangle themselves 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 Astrobees were not created to manipulate, it will require the assistance of Robonaut 2, who is designed to carry out many chores like an astronaut. Additionally, other robots, such as GITAI’s arm, 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 Astrobees in Gateway, the uncrewed space station, in order for Astrobees effectively takes over astronaut tasks to keep the spacecraft safe and habitable for human arrival.
To complete the tasks that were initially made to be done by humans so that the Gateway can be habitable, Astrobees are armed with practical components such as robotic arms. Astrobees have to carry out in-flight maintenance such as frequent inspection, routine maintenance, and contingency response to keep the space station usable. Marks (2019) states that the Astrobees 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 task assigned, Astrobees can detect the blockage of foreign objects, and also, with the robot arm, they can hold and deliver items when necessary.
Another reason why Astrobees are effective in keeping the Gateway safe for visiting astronauts is due to its multiple surveillance features. Kua et al., (2021) revealed that while Astrobees go on with their daily tasks, they can document their actions with their built-in cameras. Providing real-time updates and monitoring of the Gateway, the robots are equipped with mobile camera views to record and store the recording while providing live streaming of their activity.
Despite the Astrobees being small-sized, tasks previously done by humans can be taken over to keep Gateway ready for visitors because the robots can work independently and together as a group. Working together with other Astrobees allows them to accomplish tasks that are difficult 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, Astrobees are made to collaborate and work with one another to get their job done. Gonzalez (2019) asserted that when the Astrobees are required to handle or transport larger objects around the ISS, Astrobees can team up and work together to manoeuvre the component. After, the robots can split up and resume their daily assignment autonomously.
However, despite the great things Astrobee can 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 with the crew members or visiting astronauts. When colliding with Astrobee, there is a chance that the robot may crash onto surfaces of the spacecraft, such as the windows, causing damage to the ship. Therefore, Bualat et al., (2018) explained that they had added “corner bumpers and foam padding” to minimise the damage of this risk as much as possible.
In conclusion, Astrobee is an effective tool capable enough to maintain Gateway in replacement of the actual crew. The robots can set up the spacecraft before and after 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, E. (2021). Astrobee will find astronauts’ lost socks. IEEE Spectrum. https://spectrum.ieee.org/astrobee-nasa-gateway
Bualat, M. G., Smith, T., Smith, E. E., Fong, T., & Wheeler, D. W. (2018). Astrobee: A new tool for ISS operations. In 2018 SpaceOps Conference (p. 2517). https://arc.aiaa.org/doi/pdf/10.2514/6.2018-2517
Gonzalez, C. M. (2019). NASA’s Astrobees: Future Space Assistants. Mechanical Engineering, 141(11), 12-+.
Kua, J., Loke, S. W., Arora, C., Fernando, N., & Ranaweera, C. (2021). Internet of Things in Space: A Review of Opportunities and Challenges from Satellite-Aided Computing to Digitally-Enhanced Space Living. Sensors, 21(23), 8117. https://doi.org/10.3390/s21238117
Marks, P. (2019). Robots aim to boost astronaut efficiency. Communications of the ACM, 62(12), 16-18. https://doi.org/10.1145/3365585
Thnaks, Regine, for the revision.
ReplyDelete