Humanoid Robots Designed by NASA for Space Missions

The best trained astronaut to prepare for the next space mission is capable of working with a broad range of tools, is more flexible than a professional gymnast and has only one leg. We are not talking about a contestant to the Special Olympics; we are talking about a Robonaut, a humanoid robot NASA is relying on for the future space missions.

The telerobots will be remote controlled from Earth or from space stations, and will be send in areas with a high of risk for human astronauts.

The robots in question will "star" in the missions NASA will organize in the remote areas of the solar systems, with high level of risk, which will become accessible over the following years.

Tendril is another star from the Robots' Space Odyssey, and we are dealing with a robotized cable with a thickness of 1 cm, which can fit into tight spaces and take photos.

NASA has already a lot of robots on Mars, the majority of them being rover type robots that are able to overcome difficult obstacles specific to the Red Planet.

Over the next decades, the American government is planning to establish veritable colonies on Mars (remember Total Recall?) and to build launching sites for spaceships, so the robots are crucial for these operations.


This week, Softpedia would like to know your opinion on gaming consoles. What is your favorite console you either own or you are planning to buy? Are you an Xbox fan or a Playstation fan? Has Xbox360 convinced you it's time to buy one? Or you'll wait for the PS3? Express your opinion here.