CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Astronauts and robots have united in space with a healthy handshake. Daniel Burbank, the commander of the international space station, shook hands Wednesday with Robonaut. It’s the first handshake ever between a human and a humanoid in space.
NASA’s Robonaut was launched aboard space shuttle Discovery twelve months ago. Crews have been testing it to see how it one day might help astronauts perform space-station chores.
On Wednesday, ground controllers activated computer software that enabled the robot to extend its right hand, fingers outstretched. Burbank took the mechanical hand and pumped it up and down, as the robot’s fingers tightened around his hand.
“The first human-humanoid handshake in space,” Burbank proclaimed.
A cheer went up in the control room in Huntsville, Ala.
Robonaut — the first humanoid in space, built from the waist up — said via Twitter that it was an awesome experience, then followed up with some sign language.
“The handshake was definitely one of the highlights of the day, but I’m not done yet,” Robonaut said in a tweet. (A NASA spokeswoman actually files the tweets under the handle AstroRobonaut.)
Robonaut was awakened in space in August and made its first motion in October. A future model could venture outside for spacewalks, saving its human companions time and keeping them safe.
