AstroBee Robots Will Help Astronauts With Their Chores on ISS
Maintenance of the International Space Station (ISS) can become hectic for astronauts. So, NASA has devised a way to help astronauts with their chores. Astrobee, a free-flying robotic system assistant, is NASA’s new addition onboard the ISS. The purpose of this robot is to undertake routine tasks so that astronauts have ample time to spare for humane tasks such as scheduling and planning. A recent social media post by ISS shows the AstroBee. In the photo, NASA astronaut Megan McArthur poses with the robot inside the ISS’ Kibo laboratory module.
The AstroBee is a cube-shaped machine and it is almost the size of a toaster with a width of 12.5 inches. The caption reads, “The cube-shaped, toaster-size AstroBee is being tested for its ability to help astronauts with ordinary maintenance tasks and monitoring capabilities on the orbiting lab.”
We find more about this device on NASA’s website. According to it, AstroBee can work autonomously or via remote control handled by astronauts, flight controllers, or on-ground researchers. There are currently three such robots on the ISS.
Some of the major duties of these robots include tasks like taking inventory and documenting experiments done by astronauts. The robots can do these tasks through their built-in cameras. Astrobee can also be used to move cargo throughout the station, whenever necessary.
They can also function as a research platform. Astronauts can outfit the robots and programme them to carry out experiments in a microgravitational environment.
The robots use electric fans that help them freely fly through the microgravity of the station. The robots also have a “perching arm” with which they can grab station handrails. That way, they can turn off the propulsion fan and conserve energy.
The robots are modular and can be upgraded, giving scientists the scope for improvement.
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The gas giant TOI-2109b is more than five times as massive as Jupiter, and resides in a perilous orbit 870 light-years from our planet. As an “ultrahot Jupiter,” it completes a lap around its parent star in a mere 16 hours, the briefest orbit of any such planet known. It is baking its atmosphere to broiling temperatures, and inching closer to oblivion in an orbit that is slowly pulling it in toward its parent sun. Using archived space telescope data from TESS and Cheops, astronomers have observed the testimony of this inevitable spiral, and contemplated three (wildly divergent) possible fates of the doomed planet.
Fates for TOI-2109b
According to the new research, conducted with data from NASA’s TESS and ESA’s Cheops missions shows that TOI-2109b’s orbit is decaying — a process it will continue for thousands of Earth’s years to come by 10 seconds over three Earth years. This proves that it is in a process of slow in fall. If the decay becomes worse, the planet may start falling directly into its host star and create a luminous flare, just like ZTF SLRN-2020. Alternatively, the star’s tidal forces could permanently warp the planet and rip it asunder.
A Potential Planetary Rebirth
There is a third, less-tragic possibility which could happen through a process of photoevaporation, in which strong radiation from the hosting star removes TOI-2109b’s gaseous envelope to reveal its rocky core. If the planet shrinks quickly enough, it might survive the process, avoiding its destruction by spiraling within its eternal Roche limit, and settling as a super-Earth or Neptune-sized blow-up hard relic. Then TOI-2109b would be an odd, rare opportunity to witness up close how this process unfolds.
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TOI-2109b, ultrahot Jupiter, exoplanet death spiral, TESS, Cheops, super-Earth, planetary evolution, space science, astronomy, NASA, ESA
The Hubble Space Telescope has taken its initial shots of comet 3I/ATLAS, a comet visiting us from beyond our solar system that recently fell apart — but not before it struck a pose for the cameras. It’s only the third such object ever known, after 1I/ʻOumuamua in 2017 and 2I/Borisov in 2019. The subject of numerous scientific tweets and some frantic searches by astronomers anxious to figure out just what it is — and where it came from — before it is gone into the pitch black of deep space forever, 3I/ATLAS was first sighted by the ATLAS survey telescope on July 1, 2025.
Ancient Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS Offers Clues to Planetary Systems Beyond Our Own
According to As per Space.com, recent studies indicate that 3I/ATLAS could be some 7 billion years old, well beyond the 4.6 billion years of our solar system. That’s an indication that the comet arose in the more ancient parts of the Milky Way, which would give researchers a rare glimpse of what the early days of other planetary systems were like. Undergraduate researcher Astrafoxen first flagged the Hubble images on Bluesky, noting the comet’s “nice and puffy” coma, despite interference from cosmic rays.
A newly available preprint paper has already revealed that 3I/ATLAS contains abundant water ice and a dust makeup resembling D-type asteroids—organic-rich bodies typically found in the outer solar system. Unlike ultrared trans-Neptunian objects, D-types are believed to have high carbon and silicate content, potentially shedding light on the comet’s deep-space origins and volatile chemistry.
The comet 3I/ATLAS was discovered just as the Vera C. Rubin Observatory was gearing up to carry out its initial observations of the heavens, dovetailing with the LSST’s expected discovery of many more interstellar objects in the coming decade.
Until then, 3I/ATLAS holds the astronomical spotlight. Its brief solar system passage offers a precious opportunity for researchers to analyse the material makeup of alien planetary systems. The Hubble images, now available for download, are expected to aid future papers as scientists continue to unravel the story of this ancient cosmic traveller.
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In today’s world, there are amazing and weird humanoid robots; however, there is one which is an eye-catching machine launched in 2025 with its battery pack. This makes it more capable of running for a full day and even seven days a week. The robot’s name is Walker S2, and it has been made by the Chinese company UBTECH with dimensions of 5 feet 3 inches or 162 centimetres in height and weighs 43 kilograms or 95 pounds, which makes it a perfect size and weight for a small adult.
Walker S2: A Self-Sufficient Humanoid Robot with Swappable Battery System
As per UBTECH, it is a great robot, as with the help of a 48-volt lithium battery wrapped in a dual battery system, the robot can stand for four hours and walk for two hours before the power runs out. It takes 90 minutes to recharge the battery completely once it is depleted. It is the first robot which doesn’t need human interference to remove and recharge the battery, as it can do this on its own.
In a video published on July 17, 2025, on YouTube, the Walker S2 is also observed as charging its battery by approaching the station. It uses its arms to remove the battery pack, which is fitted in the back and places it into a vacant slot to recharge. It then takes out a fresh battery pack then inserts it into the dedicated port.
UBTECH’s Vision: Walker S2 as the Future of Factory and Public Service Robotics
It has been reported by the Chinese publication CnEVPost that Walker S2 removes and swaps its battery pack when one of its batteries is out of power. It can also detect the remaining power left and decide whether it can swap or charge the battery pack.
This robot is designed to be used in factories and other places where it can do the jobs of humans and greet and meet customers at public places. Further, it has 20 degrees of freedom and is compatible with Bluetooth and WiFi.
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