Robonaut, built by NASA and GM, is a head, torso and arms that
will be anchored inside the International Space Station. After
testing and upgrades, it will graduate to spending time attached
to the station’s exterior, where it will be most useful.
Astronauts’ bulky gloves make handling tools difficult; Robonaut
could hang on to runaway tools and aid with more-complicated
tasks. And whereas an astronaut takes at least six hours to prep
for a spacewalk, Robonaut could boot up for emergency repairs in
minutes. Recognizing the need for more spacebots, the German
Aerospace Center, DLR, has constructed Justin, a robotic torso
with similar talents. “There is a friendly competition between
us,” says Gerd Hirzinger, DLR’s head of robotics. Germany will
probably need to work with other countries to put Justin on a
Mars rover or the ISS, but one day the ’bot could rove on its
own spacecraft, repairing satellites. Here’s how the two robots
match up. Round One: Strength Justin: Even in microgravity, it
takes force to move