AstroBuilder Space Assembly Robot Completes First Autonomous EVA Repair Mission on ISS
AstroBuilder autonomously replaced a solar panel on the space station without human intervention, completing the task in 4 hours — half the time of astronaut EVA.
AstroBuilder Space Assembly Robot Completes First Autonomous EVA Repair Mission on ISS
On October 3, 2028, NASA announced that space assembly robot AstroBuilder successfully completed its first autonomous extravehicular activity (EVA) repair mission on the International Space Station. AstroBuilder autonomously removed an aging solar panel from the station's P6 truss and installed a new one without human intervention, completing the entire operation in 4 hours.
AstroBuilder was jointly developed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and Canada's MDA Corporation. It's a hexapod space robot equipped with multi-degree-of-freedom robotic arms and a complete set of EVA tools. The robot moves via the station's external rail system, with magnetic adhesion devices at each leg tip for stable positioning in microgravity.
JPL AstroBuilder project manager Dr. Julia Badger states that astronaut EVA requires hours of preparation (donning spacesuits, depressurization, etc.) and faces radiation and micrometeorite risks. AstroBuilder can perform EVA anytime, unconstrained by human limitations, with efficiency double that of human EVA.
NASA plans to deploy AstroBuilder to the Lunar Gateway orbital station in 2029 for long-term autonomous maintenance missions.
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