Russian Cosmonauts Set Up Futuristic New Robotic Arm on ISS During Six Hour Spacewalk

The International Space Station has a giant robotic arm that is designed to work autonomously and can be moved across the outside of the station during spacewalks.

Denis Matveev and Oleg Artemyev left the International Space Station at 11:01 a.m. According to NASA, the spacewalk ended at 5:37 p.m. on Monday. The control panel for the European robotic arm was installed by the pair while hanging off the space station. The duo removed the arm's protective covers and installed handrails on the Nauka module.

The robotic arm for the European Space Agency was designed and developed by a European consortium. The arm, which was launched to space in July 2021, is much like a human arm. Unlike a human arm, this robotic arm has two hands and can anchor itself to the space station and walk back and forth by moving one hand over the other.

It will be as if the space station sprouted a giant arm, one capable of handling payloads as they arrive and transferring them directly from outside to the inside without the need for space-walking astronauts. The robotic arm could one day be used to transport space-walkers themselves. The giant arm is designed to pick up astronauts in their weightless state and transport them to different spots on the space station exterior.