Dextre, also known as the special purpose dexterous manipulator (SPDM), is one of Canada’s robot contributions currently living on the International Space Station alongside the Canadarm2. It has the very important task of assisting with dangerous spacewalks. And now, it is capable of replacing the need for spacewalks altogether
Dextre is currently in the process of a week-long repair job of old cameras on the Canadarm2. The most impressive part about all this though, is it is happening entirely without any human assistance. That means that these two robots are performing the first ever robot self-repair in space.
This is a huge advantage for the people aboard the ISS, because it will reduce the amount of risky spacewalks that the astronauts need to perform. It will free up their time not only during the walk, but in the weeks of preparations that lead up to them. This could even open up the way for future concepts, such as robotically servicing satellites in space!
However, Dextre isn’t flawless yet. He has his own drawbacks and can only deal with special, compatible tools and hardware. But even at its current capacity, he is already reducing the risks astronauts need to take. We’ll make sure to keep an eye on Canada’s robotic space tag team.
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