Gecko-inspired wall-crawling robot could someday be used in space

Abigaille, a robot inspired by the gecko.

Inspired by the gecko, a robot that crawls up walls has taken a small but important step towards a future in space, scientists said on Thursday. The tiny legged prototype could be the forerunner of automatons that crawl along the hulls of spacecraft, cleaning and maintaining them, the European Space Agency (ESA) said.

 

 

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‘Sticky boom’ – a sticky solution for grabbing objects in space

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ein_J_EuAb8&hd=1[/youtube]

For one spacecraft to grab onto another spacecraft in space is a very challenging task. Although the robotic arms on the space shuttles and International Space Station (ISS) have made it look easy over the years, the process requires complex manipulator arms and special fixtures on the objects the arms are grasping, limiting the technology’s use. A small startup company is testing a new approach, though, that could greatly expand the applications of robotic arm technology to include, for example, cleaning up orbital debris and servicing the ISS.

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Space Adventures to Offer Commercial Spaceflight Opportunities to the ISS with Three Seats Available in 2013

Dennis Tito

Space Adventures became world-renowned 10 years ago with the launch of Dennis Tito, the world’s first privately-funded space explorer.

Space Adventures, the only company that has provided human space mission opportunities to the world marketplace, announced today the conclusion of an agreement with the Federal Space Agency of the Russian Federation (FSA) and Rocket Space Corporation Energia (RSC Energia) to commercially offer three seats on the Soyuz spacecraft bound for the International Space Station (ISS), beginning in 2013.

 

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