India is planning to send a “female” humanoid robot to space.
The creepily realistic-looking humanoid is called Vyommitra and she could be heading on her mission later this year.
Chief of the India Space Research Organisation, Kailasavadivoo Sivan, described Vyommitra as “half-humanoid” because the robot doesn’t have legs.
However, she is being described as “a woman.”
Vyommitra is said to speak two languages and will be communicating with mission control.
The device may even use its language skills to communicate with future astronauts.
India’s space agency unveiled the robot prototype at a media event in Bengaluru in India.
The event was used to display how the robot could move.
Some experts have questioned why using a humanoid robot to control an unmanned mission would be any better than just having software that could be programmed to control switches.
Sivan indicated to the Times of India that this mission and Vyommitra are about inspiring Indians and highlighting the country’s achievements in space.
Vyommitra is just the latest part in India’s big plans for space.
Last month, the country’s doomed spacecraft that crashed into the Moon in September was found by NASA.
The US space agency revealed an image showing the site of the $148 million lander’s impact and the debris field, crediting an Indian engineer for helping locate the site.
Despite the loss, getting that close to the surface was an amazing achievement, NASA said.
A successful landing would have made India just the fourth country to land a vessel on the lunar surface and only the third to operate a robotic rover there.
Source: Nypost
