Robonaut 2 Will Be Unpacked Tonight

A humanoid robot that made it way into low-Earth orbit recently will make its grand debut tonight, at the same time that one of its twins will be displayed at the Capitol Visitor Center, for member of Congress to come and visit.

The Robonaut 2 is a machine developed by NASA and General Motors with the express purpose of aiding astronauts aboard the ISS in completing their most delicate tasks. The entire concept on which the instrument was constructed was to augment space flyers' capabilities.

According to its fact sheet, the robot is capable of working both inside and outside the ISS, and can therefore be used to move storage containers and other cargo from one side of the station to the other.

Having this capability onboard could reduce the number of spacewalks and related preparations that the six-member crew residing permanently on the ISS usually need to do in order to get a simple job done.

Robonaut 2 was delivered to the space lab aboard the space shuttle Discovery, during its final mission ever. The instrument was delivered in its protective package, and astronauts on the station are due to start unpacking it tonight, March 15.

The machine has been trapped inside its containers since August 2010, when experts first sealed it in ahead of a planned November launch. However, glitches and other setbacks delayed Discovery's launch to mid-February, Space reports.

NASA officials say that the maneuvers will begin at 11 pm EDT (0300 GMT Wednesday), and that the first thing the ISS crew will do is inspect the robot to ensure that no damage came to it during launch.

At the same time, a ground-based Robonaut 2 will tour Washington DC. It can be viewed at the Capitol Visitor Center today, and at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum tomorrow, March 16.

The Robonaut 2 is 3 feet 4 inches (1.01 meters) tall, and tips the scales at 330 pounds (150 kilograms). Despite its heftiness, it can move tremendously precise, and has a very light touch.

This is one of the main traits that NASA sought to obtain, given that the robot was developed to work together with human astronauts. If it wasn't able to move smoothly, then it would jeopardize the lives of astronauts during spacewalks, and that in turn would defeat the point.

After the robot is inspected tonight, astronauts will shelve the robot for a short while, until they finish conducting other important chores on the station. At this point, there are no immediate plans for putting Robonaut 2 to work.