{"id":290865,"date":"2025-09-25T05:12:18","date_gmt":"2025-09-24T19:12:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?guid=38897fb59165af42cdf572feeae1d036"},"modified":"2025-09-25T05:12:18","modified_gmt":"2025-09-24T19:12:18","slug":"nasas-astrobee-robots-advance-through-strategic-partnership","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=290865","title":{"rendered":"NASA\u2019s Astrobee Robots Advance Through Strategic Partnership"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"\" class=\"hds-media hds-module wp-block-image\">\n<div class=\"margin-left-auto margin-right-auto nasa-block-align-inline\">\n<div class=\"hds-media-wrapper margin-left-auto margin-right-auto\">\n<figure class=\"hds-media-inner hds-cover-wrapper hds-media-ratio-cover \"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/iss059e038084.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1041\" height=\"694\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/iss059e038084.jpg?w=1041\" class=\"attachment-2048x2048 size-2048x2048\" alt=\"NASA astronaut Anne McClain performs the first series of tests of an Astrobee robot, Bumble, during a hardware checkout.\" style=\"transform: scale(1.2); transform-origin: 67% 14%; object-position: 67% 14%; object-fit: cover;\" block_context=\"nasa-block\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/iss059e038084.jpg 1041w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/iss059e038084.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/iss059e038084.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/iss059e038084.jpg?resize=1024,683 1024w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/iss059e038084.jpg?resize=400,267 400w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/iss059e038084.jpg?resize=600,400 600w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/iss059e038084.jpg?resize=900,600 900w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1041px) 100vw, 1041px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"\" class=\"hds-media hds-module wp-block-image\">\n<div class=\"margin-left-auto margin-right-auto nasa-block-align-inline\">\n<div class=\"hds-media-wrapper margin-left-auto margin-right-auto\">\n<figure class=\"hds-media-inner hds-cover-wrapper hds-media-ratio-cover \"><a href=\"https:\/\/images-assets.nasa.gov\/image\/iss073e0098595\/iss073e0098595~large.jpg?w=1920&#038;h=1280&#038;%23038;fit=clip&#038;%23038;crop=faces%2Cfocalpoint\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" src=\"https:\/\/images-assets.nasa.gov\/image\/iss073e0098595\/iss073e0098595~large.jpg?w=1920&amp;h=1280&amp;fit=clip&amp;crop=faces%2Cfocalpoint\" class=\"attachment-2048x2048 size-2048x2048\" alt=\"NASA astronaut and Expedition 73 Flight Engineer Anne McClain shows off a pair of Astrobee robotic free-flyers inside the International Space Station&#039;s Kibo laboratory. Ground controllers were monitoring the cube-shaped, toaster-sized devices as they autonomously performed docking maneuvers using multi-resolution scanning units installed earlier by McClain.\" style=\"transform: scale(1.2); transform-origin: 64% 57%; object-position: 64% 57%; object-fit: cover;\" block_context=\"nasa-block\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/images-assets.nasa.gov\/image\/iss073e0098595\/iss073e0098595~large.jpg?w=1920&amp;h=1280&amp;fit=crop&amp;crop=faces%2Cfocalpoint 1920w, https:\/\/images-assets.nasa.gov\/image\/iss073e0098595\/iss073e0098595~large.jpg?w=300&amp;h=200&amp;fit=crop&amp;crop=faces%2Cfocalpoint 300w, https:\/\/images-assets.nasa.gov\/image\/iss073e0098595\/iss073e0098595~large.jpg?w=768&amp;h=512&amp;fit=crop&amp;crop=faces%2Cfocalpoint 768w, https:\/\/images-assets.nasa.gov\/image\/iss073e0098595\/iss073e0098595~large.jpg?w=1024&amp;h=683&amp;fit=crop&amp;crop=faces%2Cfocalpoint 1024w, https:\/\/images-assets.nasa.gov\/image\/iss073e0098595\/iss073e0098595~large.jpg?w=1536&amp;h=1024&amp;fit=crop&amp;crop=faces%2Cfocalpoint 1536w, https:\/\/images-assets.nasa.gov\/image\/iss073e0098595\/iss073e0098595~large.jpg?w=400&amp;h=267&amp;fit=crop&amp;crop=faces%2Cfocalpoint 400w, https:\/\/images-assets.nasa.gov\/image\/iss073e0098595\/iss073e0098595~large.jpg?w=600&amp;h=400&amp;fit=crop&amp;crop=faces%2Cfocalpoint 600w, https:\/\/images-assets.nasa.gov\/image\/iss073e0098595\/iss073e0098595~large.jpg?w=900&amp;h=600&amp;fit=crop&amp;crop=faces%2Cfocalpoint 900w, https:\/\/images-assets.nasa.gov\/image\/iss073e0098595\/iss073e0098595~large.jpg?w=1200&amp;h=800&amp;fit=crop&amp;crop=faces%2Cfocalpoint 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><figcaption class=\"hds-caption padding-y-2\">\n<div class=\"hds-caption-text p-sm margin-0\">(Top) NASA astronaut Anne McClain performs the first series of tests of an Astrobee robot, Bumble, during a hardware checkout in May, 2019. \u00a0<br \/>(Bottom) NASA astronaut McClain poses with Astrobee robots Bumble (left) and Honey during their latest on orbit activity in May, 2025.\u00a0\u00a0<\/div>\n<div class=\"hds-credits\">NASA<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>NASA is continuing the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/astrobee\/\">Astrobee<\/a> mission through a collaboration with Arkisys, Inc., of Los Alamitos, California, who was awarded a reimbursable Space Act Agreement to sustain and maintain the robotic platform aboard the International Space Station. As the agency returns astronauts to the Moon, robotic helpers like Astrobee could one day take over routine maintenance tasks and support future spacecraft at the Moon and Mars without relying on humans for continuous operation.<\/p>\n<p>In March, the agency issued a call for partnership proposals to support its ongoing space research initiatives. Arkisys was selected to maintain the platform and continue enabling partners to use the Astrobee system as a means to experiment with new technologies in the microgravity environment of the space station.<\/p>\n<p>NASA launched the Astrobee mission to the space station in 2018. Since then, the free-flying robots have marked multiple <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/image-article\/astrobee-space-bots-mark-new-milestone-human-robot-teamwork\/\">first-in-space<\/a> milestones for robots working alongside astronauts to accomplish spacecraft monitoring, alert simulations, and more in partnership with researchers from industry and academia.<\/p>\n<p>The Astrobee system includes three colorful, cube-shaped robots \u2013 named \u201cBumble,\u201d \u201cHoney,\u201d and \u201cQueen\u201d \u2013 along with software and a docking station for recharging. The mission has advanced NASA\u2019s goal of developing robotic systems and technologies that can perform tasks and support exploration, maintenance, and monitoring as humans venture further into space for longer durations.<\/p>\n<p>The International Space Station is a convergence of science, technology, and human innovation enabling research not possible on Earth. For nearly 25 years, NASA has supported a continuous U.S. human presence aboard the orbiting laboratory, where astronauts have learned to live and work in space for extended periods of time. The space station is a springboard for developing a low Earth economy and NASA\u2019s next great leaps in human exploration at the Moon and Mars.<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>NASA is continuing the Astrobee mission through a collaboration with Arkisys, Inc., of Los Alamitos, California, who was awarded a reimbursable Space Act Agreement to sustain and maintain the robotic platform aboard the International Space Station. As the agency returns astronauts to the Moon, robotic helpers like Astrobee could one day take over routine maintenance [\u2026]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15621,15652,5063],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-290865","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ames-research-center","category-iss-research","category-robotics"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/290865","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=290865"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/290865\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":290866,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/290865\/revisions\/290866"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=290865"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=290865"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=290865"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}