Jan 9, 2014 6:30 AM

Gallery: NASA's Robot Astronaut Now Has Bendy, $15M Legs for Crawling Around the ISS

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NASA's Robonaut, or R2, was to created to take on jobs that are too dangerous, or dull, for humans. Photo: NASA JSC
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Robonaut was recently upgraded with legs that can span nine feet, featuring seven points of articulation, and grippers designed to help it navigate the International Space Station. Photo: NASA JSC

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The robot's arms were designed to be able to use the same tools as human astronauts, but the legs have special powers. Photo: NASA JSC
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A team of eight engineers spent years and over $15 million dollars developing the legs that would make it flight ready, and the hope is to install them early this year. Photo: NASA JSC

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Robonaut is an engineering marvel: Engineers equipped R2 with arms and hands that can carry 40 pound payloads; 350 sensors feeding into 38 processors give it the ability to carefully manipulate a control panel. Photo: NASA JSC
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It can even send text messages—from outer space! Photo: NASA JSC

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Early versions of Robonaut were nearly perfect, well except the fact that it couldn't move. R2 was either mounted on a pole or attached to a wheeled base, both non-starters in space. Photo: NASA JSC
Joseph Bibby
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"A robot can hold its breath a long time, making it a potentially valuable and diverse member of the crew," says says Rob Ambrose, Chief of the Software and Robotics Division at NASA's Johnson Space Center. Photo: NASA JSC

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