ISS Astronauts Operating Remote Robots Show Future of Planetary Exploration

In late August, an astronaut on board the International Space Station remotely operated a humanoid robot to inspect and repair a solar farm on Mars--or at least a simulated Mars environment, which in this case is a room with rust-colored floors, walls, and curtains at the German Aerospace Center, or DLR, in Oberpfaffenhofen, near Munich. European Space Agency astronaut Paolo Nespoli commanded the humanoid, called Rollin' Justin, as the robot performed a series of navigation, maintenance, and repair tasks. Instead of relying on direct teleoperation, Nespoli used a tablet computer to issue high-level commands to the robot. In one task, he used the tablet to position the robot and have it take pictures from different angles. Another command instructed Justin to grasp a cable and connect it to a data port.