'Scorpion' robot mission inside Fukushima reactor aborted

A'scorpion' robot sent into a Japanese nuclear reactor to learn about the damage suffered in a tsunami-induced meltdown had its mission aborted after the probe ran into trouble, Tokyo Electric Power company said Thursday. TEPCO, the operator of the Fukushima nuclear plant, sent the remote-controlled device into the No. 2 reactor where radiation levels have recently hit record highs. The'scorpion' robot, so-called because it can lift up its camera-mounted tail to achieve better viewing angles, is also designed to crawl over rubble inside the damaged facility. The'scorpion' robot is designed to withstand up to 1,000 sieverts of radiation - but had its mission aborted after the probe ran into trouble, Tokyo Electric Power company said After a manually operated camera probed the deepest point yet within the reactor earlier this month, Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) estimate that radiation levels inside the plant's No. 2 reactor have hit 530 sieverts per hour. Radiation exposure at 530 sieverts per hour would effectively shut down TEPCO's planned robot camera probe in under two hours.