Astronauts to Remove Humanoid Robot from Carrying Crate

According to officials at NASA, a humanoid robot, Robonaut 2 that was delivered to the space station by the shuttle Discovery is estimated to be released out of its packing crate by the end of this month. After carrying out the unpacking of Robonaut 2, ground crews will start with tinkering operations soon after.

NASA will wait for a few moths before it allows the robot to handle operations to replace astronauts on the complex. Astronauts transferred the robot from the new Permanent Multipurpose Module to the Destiny laboratory on Wednesday. The space crew plans to slip the Robonaut out of its packaging crate and fix it on the lab's sidewall.

Royce Renfrew, the lead space station flight director of Discovery stated that the robot’s protective packing foam needs to be removed first. Before the HTV cargo logistics freighter exits the complex on March 28, 2011, station astronauts are expected to remove R2 from its carrying crate.