ESA successfully tests controlling a robot on Earth from orbit
The European Space Agency (ESA) has successfully completed a test program, proving that an astronaut in orbit on ISS can control and operate a small robot on Earth.
Astronaut Luca Parmitano aboard the ISS [in 2019] operated the gripper-equipped ESA Interact rover in a mock lunar environment inside a hangar in Valkenburg, the Netherlands to survey rocks and collect samples. The two-hour space-to-ground test was a success, overcoming a two-way signal delay averaging more than 0.8 seconds and a data packet loss rate of 1% plus.
The value of this test is obvious. It shows that astronauts will be able to use small rovers and robots in remote operations, such as sending a probe down to the surface before landing themselves, or once on the planet sending that probe into dangerous terrain as a scout, while the astronaut stays back in safety.
At the same time, the robot used and the tasks it completed were all relatively simple. Moreover, the “mock lunar environment” was hardly realistic. A lot more work is needed before such a robot is functional in a real planetary environment.
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The European Space Agency (ESA) has successfully completed a test program, proving that an astronaut in orbit on ISS can control and operate a small robot on Earth.
Astronaut Luca Parmitano aboard the ISS [in 2019] operated the gripper-equipped ESA Interact rover in a mock lunar environment inside a hangar in Valkenburg, the Netherlands to survey rocks and collect samples. The two-hour space-to-ground test was a success, overcoming a two-way signal delay averaging more than 0.8 seconds and a data packet loss rate of 1% plus.
The value of this test is obvious. It shows that astronauts will be able to use small rovers and robots in remote operations, such as sending a probe down to the surface before landing themselves, or once on the planet sending that probe into dangerous terrain as a scout, while the astronaut stays back in safety.
At the same time, the robot used and the tasks it completed were all relatively simple. Moreover, the “mock lunar environment” was hardly realistic. A lot more work is needed before such a robot is functional in a real planetary environment.
The support of my readers through the years has given me the freedom and ability to analyze objectively the ongoing renaissance in space, as well as the cultural changes -- for good or ill -- that are happening across America. Four years ago, just before the 2020 election I wrote that Joe Biden's mental health was suspect. Only in this year has the propaganda mainstream media decided to recognize that basic fact.
Fourteen years ago I wrote that SLS and Orion were a bad ideas, a waste of money, would be years behind schedule, and better replaced by commercial private enterprise. Even today NASA and Congress refuse to recognize this reality.
In 2020 when the world panicked over COVID I wrote that the panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Only in the past year have some of our so-called experts in the health field have begun to recognize these facts.
Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.
Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black.
You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are five ways of doing so:
1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.
2. Patreon: Go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation.
3. A Paypal Donation:
5. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed to
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652
You can also support me by buying one of my books, as noted in the boxes interspersed throughout the webpage or shown in the menu above. And if you buy the books through the ebookit links, I get a larger cut and I get it sooner.
“a real planetary environment”
The planets and moons we got within 5.3 AU of our Sun, fit for orbit, share these characteristics: near-airless atmo, Mars or Moon g, covered in fine dust or snow powder, and baked with radiation. We’re ruling out using anything like this robot at, say, Venus.
Although Antarctica “right here” might be interesting to interact with, from orbit. High orbit for line-of-sight, methinks. Unless we’re okay with the delays from a polar orbit.
If only we had an ansible for telepresense-use in waldo-work.
Of all odd places to learn about sensory latency, I was gobsmacked by my latency sensitivity in Rock Band. My eye (TV) and ear (stereo) “what’s going on?!?!” latency is about 30msec. If the two desynch by more than that, it’s confusing.
The game doesn’t let you adjust the physical feedback latency, but it would be interesting to test that, too. One supposes that with training, a person could get used to _some_ latency between action and result, but our proprioception systems are VERY old. It might require a great deal of training or natural talent at it.
Are the issues with remote drone piloting publicized anywhere or is it all classified? Round trip fiber latency from Chicago to London is non-trivial (~200msec, right now; dealing with the slow speed of light is part of my job). Satellite links are much worse and pale in comparison to Earth/Moon.
Still, a very cool experiment.
Are the issues with remote drone piloting publicized anywhere?
The overall problem seems well known:
https://aviation.stackexchange.com/questions/21352/how-do-drones-overcome-latency
Some the the posters are fairly clueless (it is the Internet, after all).
“Some the the posters are fairly clueless (it is the Internet, after all).”
Not just the internet. I had a NASA engineer tell me that we needed to increase the baud rate (the speed, as he understood it) because the Pad was a long way away.
Hey, they’re in charge. What can you say?