໒( ͡ᵔ ▾ ͡ᵔ )७ Summary Reader Response (Final) - Astrobee A

 In the article “Astrobee Will Find Astronauts’ Lost Socks”, Ackerman (2021) stated that the robot, Astrobee, will be in charge of maintaining the empty Gateway, which is a permanent space station that serves as a rest stop for astronauts. Test results from the article reported that Astrobee could locate the designated position, detect foreign objects’ blockage, request assistance for blockage clearance, and build a detailed “multi-sensor 3D map”. Astrobee managed to disentangle itself from stray wires and cables, cope with communication interference, and complete all tasks with minimal help. However, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) requires robots to manage situations that call for physical intervention. Since the creation of Astrobee was not to manipulate, it will require the assistance of Robonaut 2, which was created to carry out many chores like an astronaut. Additionally, other robots, such as GITAI’s arm, will also be involved in testing on the International Space Station (ISS). In hopes of having the ISS and Gateway entirely dependent on the maintenance of robots, the Integrated System for Autonomous and Adaptive Caretaking project will be more reliant on robotic autonomy so that humans will have a base prepared in space. 

Robots will soon take over numerous human jobs thanks to rapid technological advancements. The Astrobee is a new and essential tool created to enhance the safety of the crew members on the ISS while improving the effectiveness of flight and payload operations. 

The Astrobee is an essential tool created to look over and set up the Gateway operations even when there is no one around. It has the ability to reduce the amount of time astronauts usually spend on routine duties, allowing them to have more time to focus on other things. The Astrobee has a system called the Ground Data System (GDS) that can handle any future maintenance and upgrades; this allows the Astrobee to be self-sufficient as it does not require any manpower in space to improve its software.

 By monitoring the oxygen level in the air, the Astrobee enhances the safety of the crew members. Although many of us take oxygen for granted, it is crucial not to do that on a spacecraft, as according to Bualat (2018), the concentration of carbon dioxide in spacecraft could be easily ten to twenty times higher than the ambient level on Earth, and that overexposure to this level of CO2 could cause “headaches, vision disruption, and other central nervous systems (CNS) symptoms.” Because oxygen is one of the most basic requirements to sustain human life, it is essential to monitor the oxygen level regularly. 

Astrobee can help increase the efficiency of flight and payload operations by localising noise sources more precisely. The astronauts must regularly take sound level meter measurements (SLM) to verify that the crew members are not affected by the loud noises, as they must measure these noises as close to the designated site as feasible to produce reliable data, which the Astrobee can do better than astronauts, as the Astrobee is equipped with position data that allows it to get as close to the described point as possible. These measurements are important as the loud noises can induce tiredness, resulting in the crew members’ having a shorter reaction time, being more forgetful, or even becoming confused. Like the two sides of a coin, every advantage has a disadvantage. 

The docking station for the Astrobee was a problem for NASA; it was difficult for NASA to find a location for the Astrobee docking station because, according to Bualat (2018), the docking position requires a position that can provide power and ethernet connectivity. After all, the Astrobee would have to recharge itself and transfer large files through the hard-wired ethernet connection when docked. Unlike the Int-Ball or CIMON, it does not require a docking station, so NASA does not need to find a space for it. 

To summarise, Astrobee is the most appropriate robot for the Gateway, in my opinion, because it is a critical tool designed to improve the safety of the ISS crewmembers while also boosting the effectiveness of flight and payload operations. It not only fits the parameters that most other robots fail to meet, but there’s also a chance that the Astrobee will add a lot more features in the near future. Until a better robot is developed, Astrobee is the best option for the time being. 


References: 

1. Ackerman, E. (2017). How NASA’s Astrobee robot is bringing useful autonomy to the ISS. https://spectrum.ieee.org/how-nasa-astrobee-robot-is-bringing-useful-autonomy-tothe-iss

2. Ackerman, E. (2021). Astrobee Will Find Astronauts’ Lost Socks. 
https://spectrum.ieee.org/astrobee-nasa-gateway 

3. Bualat, M. G., Smith, T., Smith, E. E., Fong, T., & Wheeler, D. W. (2018). Astrobee: A new tool for ISS operations. 
https://arc.aiaa.org/doi/pdf/10.2514/6.2018-2517 

4. Meyer, M. (2014, July). ISS Ambient Air Quality: Updated Inventory of Known Aerosol Sources. https://ttu-ir.tdl.org/handle/2346/59741 

5. Smith, T., Barlow, J., Bualat, M., Fong, T., Provencher, C., Sanchez, H., & Smith, E. (2016, June). Astrobee: A new platform for free-flying robotics on the international space station. https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/20160007769/downloads/20160007769.pdf 

6. Vargas, A. M., Ruiz, R. G., Wofford, P., Kumar, V., Van Ross, B., Katterhagen, A., ... & Bualat, M. (2018). Astrobee: Current status and future use as an international research platform. https://longhorizon.org/trey/papers/mora19_guest_science_iac.pdf

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