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NASA uses robots is a various amount of ways. Some examples are Robotic arms, Robotic airplanes and many more. Robotic arms move large objects in space and robotic airplanes have the ability to fly without a pilot. NASA can also use rovers that that can explore different celestial bodies in which rockets can not reach yet. NASA is developing robots to help people in space.

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Robotics is the study of robots. NASA uses these machines in many different ways.

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NASA uses robots for heavy lifting to create rockets. NASA also uses robots to program a route for the Hubble Telescope which a human could not calculate. NASA also uses rockets to program an algorithm during a launch of a rocket so a human does no need to interfere.

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As NASA's 30-year space shuttle program draws to a close, engineers at the space agency are focusing on building advanced robots that will delve deeper into space.

Robots have been a part of NASA's entire shuttle program, being used as various robotic arms onboard most space shuttles, as well as the International Space Station. The robotic arms moved massive payloads, carried astronauts during spacewalks and did the "heavy lifting" during the construction of the space station.

"You see this arm, this delicate looking arm, grabbing these huge payloads and moving them around with great precision," said Brian Roberts, a robotics specialist at Goddard Space Flight Center. "It really was ground breaking."

And while Roberts said the shuttle program, as well as the build out and operation of the space station, was a great test bed for space robotics, it turned out that robots were a critical ingredient for both programs.

"I don't think the space shuttle program could have done a great deal of their missions without robotics," he added. "You just couldn't have maintained the Hubble [Space Telescope] without robotics. There's no way even three or four astronauts floating around could have done that, and there's no way we could have built the space station without robotics. Just impossible."

But now that the shuttle fleet has officially been retired, where do space robotics go from here? Well, they go much deeper into space, said Roberts.

Robotic probes will be sent to asteroids to pluck up material and send it back to scientists on Earth, for instance. Robotic rovers will continue to study the surface of Mars.

And if humans are sent to back to the moon or to Mars for the first time, robots are likely to proceed them, digging for water and setting up an outpost that will keep humans sheltered and safe in a harsh and unfamiliar environment.

"Human-robotic cooperation -- I think it's an area that NASA is studying," Roberts said. "We're looking at roles that robots play, roles that humans play when they're there together with robots, and the roles robots will have after humans leave."

It should be a time of great advancement in robotics. And it will be key to humans moving deeper into outer space, said Roberts.

Actually, the Obama administration's new plan for NASA is for commercial companies to focus on building what essentially will be space taxis, while space engineers focus on things like next-generation heavy-lift engines and robotics.

"There is a lot of work to do in [terms of] how do we [use robots to] maximize the humans' work," said Roberts. "What smarts do you put in a robot to have them work nicely with humans? How do humans and robots work side-by-side. How do they not hurt the humans if a sensor goes bad?"

And NASA isn't new to the idea that humans and robots will work hand-in-hand on future space missions.

In 2008, Carl Walz, director of advanced capabilities at NASA and a former astronaut, said robots will be "absolutely critical" to future space exploration.

Actually, he said the nature of space exploration will change because of the way that robots will participate in it.

Sharon Gaudin covers the Internet and Web 2.0, emerging technologies, and desktop and laptop chips for Computerworld. Follow Sharon on Twitter at @sgaudin, on Google+ or subscribe to Sharon's RSS feed . Her e-mail address is sgaudin@computerworld.com.

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NASA says robots are key to future space exploration

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As NASA's 30-year space shuttle program draws to a close, engineers at the space agency are focusing on building advanced robots that will delve deeper into space. Robots have been a part of NASA's entire shuttle program, being used as various robotic arms onboard most space shuttles, as well as the International Space Station.

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NASA can use robots to go on expeditions that humans can not. Robots are used to artificially represent a human. NASA's devolved robots can do complected maneuvers during space expeditions that humans would not be able too. This is beneficiary towards NASA as they can use the same robot for multiple scenarios.

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A big advantage of space robots is that they need neither food nor drink and can support very inhospitable conditions. More important still, although expensive to design and produce, their loss is always preferable to that of an astronaut. At this month's ASTRA 2004 workshop robots designed in ESA's space research and technical centre in the Netherlands attracted much attention. "On Earth, robots regularly take over when it comes to repetitive tasks or when human health may be at risk. They are used to assemble cars, deactivate bombs, weld pipes at the bottom of the sea and work in nuclear power plants," says Gianfranco Visentin, Head of ESA's Automation and Robotics Section at ESA's ESTEC, the Netherlands.

"In space, it is even more attractive to use robots," he emphasises. "They can support or replace people to carry out tasks that are too dangerous, too difficult, repetitive, time consuming or even impossible for astronauts. They can also be faster and more precise than people."

Jokingly he adds, "plus they can operate around the clock and do not need to break for lunch or sleep".

What is a space robot? In the space community, any unmanned spacecraft can be called a robotic spacecraft, but Visentin prefers a more specific description: "a system having mobility and the ability to manipulate objects plus the flexibility to perform any combination of these tasks autonomously or by remote control". "The objective of space robots is basically to perform an action in space such as position an instrument to take a measurement, collect a sample for examination, assemble a structure or even move around an astronaut."

In some ways space robots are no different than their siblings on Earth - they basically replace a human performing an action.

However, those for space do have some special requirements as they have to:

* withstand a launch * operate under difficult environmental conditions often in remote locations * weigh as little as possible as any mass is expensive to launch * use little power and have a long operational life * operate autonomously * be extremely reliable

To respond to these constraints advanced and innovative technologies are needed, as well as very complex systems. Says Visentin, "this sounds like a lot of trouble, but space also provides great opportunities for creating robots that could not be made for use on Earth."

"The most advantageous opportunity is the almost zero gravity in outer space. This means that everything weighs much less than on Earth and even the heaviest object can be moved and raised with little effort, so a small robot can move huge objects."

Types of robots The most conventional robot used in space missions is the rover. This vehicle can move around the surface of another planet transporting scientific instruments. Usually both the vehicle and the instruments are operated autonomously.

ESA, in collaboration with European industry, has developed the incredibly small micro-rover Nanokhod. Although only the size of a large book and weighing just 2 kg it can transport and position 1 kg of instruments within a short radius of a small lander. A larger robot has been developed to collect soil samples from other planets. The 12 kg MIRO-2 mini-rover carries a robotic drill that can collect up to 10 samples from a maximum depth of 2 m. It then returns to the lander where the samples can be analysed by the scientific instruments on board.

A third mini-rover being developed by ESA is the fully solar powered 15 kg Solero mini-rover that uses miniature batteries to store electricity on board. This also has an innovative chassis. Its six wheels arranged on the vertices of a hexagon enable it to operate in very rough terrain.

Learning from nature Robot designers often use nature for inspiration. One good example is the impressive Aramies/Scorpion robot under development by ESA. With its eight legs and motion inspired by the animal world it can operate in very rugged terrain and on dunes.

Another example is the EUROBOT. This robot, which is as large as a human, is designed to carry out astronaut's tasks on the International Space Station. EUROBOT will be able to climb the outside of a space station, attach itself to the handrails just like an astronaut and be tele-operated by the crew inside.

Nature also inspired the hopping robot. Even if less than 40 cm high it can leap over obstacles up to a couple of metres high, a feat that is impossible on Earth with its force of gravity but fairly easy to accomplish on the Moon or Mars. Visentin emphasises that ESA's research focuses on space-specific issues that are not interesting or profitable for terrestrial use and does not duplicate what is already available.

"Whenever possible we re-use robotics technology used for applications on Earth, but some of the operations needed for space exploration are of no use on Earth. For instance, nobody would want to make a robotic field biologist to explore the Earth, as even with the most advanced technology the result would always be far inferior to a real biologist, at least today. On Mars, however, a robot is the only option at present."

The constraints of space Space poses many constraints not faced by robots for use on Earth. The very low-pressure in orbit causes metal parts to cold-weld together, atomic oxygen to react with almost any material and nullifies the cooling benefits of convection for electronics.

Radiation also differs from that encountered on Earth and in space, heavy particles make digital electronics misbehave or even burn. Thermal conditions are also extreme, with external temperatures ranging from plus or minus more than a hundred degrees centigrade.

Another characteristic of space missions is that robots have to operate far away from their home base. Radio signals to control and monitor them have to travel for a long time and this introduces communications delays prohibiting real-time or near-real-time tele-operation. Therefore space robots must be able to operate on their own and handle any problems that occur while carrying out their tasks.

All these are problems that ESA's space engineers have learnt to cope with. Qualified design techniques, materials, hardware and electronics components are specifically designed to work reliably despite these effects.

"We are continuing to do research into new types of robots which can cope with the special conditions in space, go where humans cannot and help astronauts manage the huge amount of work on the International Space Station," says Visentin.

Notes for editors:

'ASTRA 2004' - The 8th ESA Workshop on Advanced Space Technologies for Robotics and Automation, was held in ESTEC, the Agency's technology and research centre in Noordwijk, the Netherlands, 2-4 November 2004. ASTRA 2004 builds on the tradition of the previous seven ASTRA Workshops. It is a forum for information exchange and discussion of the European space Automation and Robotics (A&R) community.

This is the first in a series of articles presenting the Agency's and European industry's effort in robotics technology for space programmes.

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space station; space exploration; space missions; nasa; robotics research; engineering; aviation; vehicles

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A big advantage of space robots is that they need neither food nor drink and can support very inhospitable conditions. More important still, although expensive to design and produce, their loss is always preferable to that of an astronaut. At this month's ASTRA 2004 workshop robots designed in ESA's space research and technical centre in the Netherlands attracted much attention.

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A NASA robot that simulates a human in space

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A NASA propulsion robot to take photos on celestial body

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This NASA rover is used to capture images where humans can not reach

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A solar powered NASA robot that is efficient and takes images on earth

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This 'Humanoid' is one of NASA's prototype modules to be sent to space

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This NASA robot known as Valkyrie is a robot that can act as if it is a normal human and it is planned to be used in future expeditions that NASA has planned.

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NASA uses a lot of robots and they are beneficiary they help us explore space in places humans can not visit and just like Valkyrie they can interact with systems . Robots do have a far way to go to even reach near to be consistent enough to be used for every mission. Robots are developing at a fast rate, the time is coming for robots to be develop in many ways besides space exploration.