{"id":537081,"date":"2023-10-05T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-10-05T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/?p=537081"},"modified":"2023-10-10T13:53:33","modified_gmt":"2023-10-10T17:53:33","slug":"honey-astrobee-returns-space","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/missions\/station\/iss-research\/honey-astrobee-returns-space\/","title":{"rendered":"NASA\u2019s Honey Astrobee Robot Returns to Space"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"\" class=\"hds-media hds-module wp-block-image\"><div class=\"margin-left-auto margin-right-auto nasa-block-align-inline\"><div class=\"hds-media-wrapper margin-left-auto margin-right-auto\"><figure class=\"hds-media-inner hds-cover-wrapper hds-media-ratio-fit \"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/astrobee-1.jpeg\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"720\" height=\"480\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/astrobee-1.jpeg?w=720\" class=\"attachment-2048x2048 size-2048x2048\" alt=\"The interior of the International Space Station, where an astronaut holds a a cube-shaped robot.\" style=\"transform: scale(1); transform-origin: 69% 43%; object-position: 69% 43%; object-fit: cover;\" block_context=\"nasa-block\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/astrobee-1.jpeg 720w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/astrobee-1.jpeg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/astrobee-1.jpeg?resize=400,267 400w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/astrobee-1.jpeg?resize=600,400 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" loading=\"eager\" \/><\/a><\/figure><figcaption class=\"hds-caption padding-y-2\"><div class=\"hds-caption-text p-sm margin-0\">NASA astronaut Woody Hoburg examines a recently unpacked Astrobee free-flying robot aboard the International Space Station. The Astrobee system is a research platform exploring how robots can maintain spacecraft. <\/div><div class=\"hds-credits\">NASA<\/div><\/figcaption><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<p><strong>Editor\u2019s Note: This article was updated October 10, 2023, to correct the date when the Honey Astrobee returned to Earth, which was on September 30, 2021.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The International Space Station is abuzz with the return of one of NASA\u2019s Astrobee smart robots. The yellow Honey Astrobee, one of three free-flying robots, was unboxed in space after spending nearly two years at its home base, NASA\u2019s Ames Research Center in California\u2019s Silicon Valley. Honey had returned to Earth in September 2021 for maintenance and repairs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>NASA astronaut Woody Hoburg helped unpack Honey from its flight container and verified the robot was ready to get back to work. After initial checks, Honey was able to independently disengage from its docking station, maneuver through the space station\u2019s Japanese Experiment Module (JEM), and re-dock successfully without crew supervision. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/astrobee\">Astrobee<\/a> Facility provides the orbiting laboratory with a robotic system for research and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) outreach. Astrobee consists of three cubed-shaped robots, software, and a docking station used for recharging. The robots, which use electric fans as propulsion in the microgravity of the space station, aim to help manage routine spacecraft tasks so that astronauts can focus on jobs that only humans can perform. The project provides payload opportunities as well as guidance to users from academia, private industry, NASA, and other government agencies in the execution of approved research and STEM objectives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Astrobee was funded by NASA\u2019s Game Changing Development Program, part of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/space-technology-mission-directorate\/\">Space Technology Mission Directorate<\/a>. Ongoing funding is provided by NASA\u2019s International Space Station Utilization Office.  <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Editor\u2019s Note: This article was updated October 10, 2023, to correct the date when the Honey Astrobee returned to Earth, which was on September 30, 2021. The International Space Station is abuzz with the return of one of NASA\u2019s Astrobee smart robots. The yellow Honey Astrobee, one of three free-flying robots, was unboxed in space […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":222,"featured_media":537104,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nasa_hds_core_meta_l10n":"en-US","nasa_hds_core_meta_article_editor":"","nasa_hds_core_meta_article_contacts":[],"nasa_hds_core_meta_article_topic":"","nasa_hds_core_meta_linked_locations":[],"nasa_hds_core_meta_article_related_articles":[],"hds_migrate_meta_pr_release_id":"","hds_migrate_meta_pr_release_type":"","nasa_hds_core_meta_location_x":"","nasa_hds_core_meta_location_y":"","nasa_hds_core_meta_gallery_images":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[11285,2854,2800,1,2735,2830,2879],"news-tags":[],"internal-terms":[],"coauthors":[10485],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"NASA\u2019s Honey Astrobee Robot Returns to Space","url":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/missions\/station\/iss-research\/honey-astrobee-returns-space\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/missions\/station\/iss-research\/honey-astrobee-returns-space\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/astrobee-1.jpeg?w=150&h=150&crop=1","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/astrobee-1.jpeg"},"articleSection":"Missions","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Arezu Sarvestani"}],"creator":["Arezu Sarvestani"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"NASA","logo":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/themes\/nasa\/assets\/images\/nasa-logo.svg"},"keywords":["NASA Directorates","Space Technology Mission Directorate","ISS Research","Ames Research Center","Astronauts","General","International Space Station (ISS)","Robotics"],"dateCreated":"2023-10-05T16:00:00Z","datePublished":"2023-10-05T16:00:00Z","dateModified":"2023-10-10T17:53:33Z"},"rendered":"<meta name=\"parsely-title\" content=\"NASA\u2019s Honey Astrobee Robot Returns to Space\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-link\" content=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/missions\/station\/iss-research\/honey-astrobee-returns-space\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-type\" content=\"post\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-image-url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/astrobee-1.jpeg?w=150&h=150&crop=1\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-pub-date\" content=\"2023-10-05T16:00:00Z\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-section\" content=\"Missions\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-tags\" content=\"NASA Directorates,Space Technology Mission Directorate,ISS Research,Ames Research Center,Astronauts,General,International Space Station (ISS),Robotics\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-author\" content=\"Arezu Sarvestani\" \/>","tracker_url":"https:\/\/cdn.parsely.com\/keys\/nasa.gov\/p.js"},"read_time":2,"time_ago":"9 months","featured_image":{"id":537104,"file":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/astrobee-1.jpeg","title":"Astrobee Honey’s unboxing aboard the ISS in summer 2023","alt":"The interior of the International Space Station, where an astronaut holds a cube-shaped robot.","caption":"NASA astronaut Woody Hoburg examines a recently unpacked Astrobee free-flying robot aboard the International Space Station. The Astrobee system is a research platform exploring how robots can maintain spacecraft. 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