Although it's hard to imagine this in 2015, Robonaut is actually the first International Space Station robot ever to float the premises, as the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) hires the humanoid robot to perform routine checks on the astronauts onboard, as it could ultimately become the in-house doctor for Mars missions.
NASA astronauts in the ISS are currently testing the recently boarded International Space Station robot, Robonaut, which is set to perform medical tasks in space at some point, with doctors back on Earth guiding its hands to perform delicate and detail-oriented actions that are more difficult for humans in an environment with little gravity.
According to Quartz, the International Space Station robot, which has been described to look as "a cross between C-3PO and the Michelin Man," can take selfies and, more importantly, take over simple, repetitive or even dangerous tasks in places such as the ISS, potentially shielding astronauts - and, generally, humans - from harm.
In case astronauts and cosmonauts feel like letting some steam off, Robonaut can apparently even turn into a decent sparring partner!
The Daily Times Gazette reports that the new International Space Station robot was created between NASA and General Motors, and it was named the Invention of the Year 2014, chosen over areas as varied as Aerospace Significance, Humanitarian Significance, Industry Significance, Creativity, NASA Use and Industry Use.
Tweak Town reports that the reason NASA sent Robonaut for its first International Space Station robot mission is to see how it will work in a low-gravity environment and, if it does well, there'd be future missions outside the ISS, possibly covering up lunar or even Martian territory - future editions of Robonaut could even include Curiosity Rover-like wheels.
The Robonaut experiments began in 1997, when it was thought the first prototype could be reaching the ISS by 2005, a feat that took an extra decade.
Watch some fantastic videos of the International Space Station robot below!
