Russian cosmonauts begin spacewalk training with robot assistant - Cosmonaut Training Center
MOSCOW. Feb 27 (Interfax) - Russian cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina have begun training to operate the Teledroid anthropomorphic robot, designed to help work on the exterior of the International Space Station (ISS), the Russian Cosmonaut Training Center (CTC) said on Friday.
"A prototype of a new-generation experimental robot has completed a series of tests, and now the Center's specialists are training the cosmonauts to perform the scientific program's tasks," it said.
Using the robot will reduce risks and costs associated with human spacewalks, as the Teledroid can withstand vacuum, radiation, and temperature changes, it said.
The robot's control system, which includes a cosmonaut-mounted copying controller and virtual reality goggles, will be positioned inside the station, while the robot itself will be installed for the first time on the outer surface of the Russian segment of the ISS, it said.
The robot can be operated both automatically and manually. Moreover, voice control will be used for the first time to manipulate it.
"The device operates in three modes: automatic, copying, which is the most labor-intensive for cosmonauts, and supervisory, which means it is controlled through voice commands. In supervisory mode, the cosmonaut sets a task, and the robot carries it out relying on technical vision. For example, it can pick up a hammer, hand over a wrench or other tools, or perform other standard operations," the CTC quoted Yury Chebotaryov, a senior researcher responsible for preparing cosmonauts for the experiment, as saying.
The cosmonauts will be required to teleoperate the robot in three configurations, i.e. computer simulation, where they practice their actions in virtual reality and which is safe for equipment, then by controlling the real Teledroid positioned inside the Russian segment of the ISS, and then operating the robot installed on the station's exterior using copying remote control, Chebotaryov said.
The experimental robot was developed by the NPO Android Technics joint stock society, and Roscosmos's TsNIIMash Central Research Institute of Machine-Building organized and conducted the experiment, the CTC said.
Alexander Grebenshchikov, a deputy head of a TsNIIMash laboratory, announced on December 16, 2025 that the Russian Teledroid android robot would be sent to the ISS in summer 2026.
Russia has experience using a humanoid robot in orbit. Roscosmos launched the anthropomorphic robot FEDOR to the ISS on August 22, 2019, which completed the entire planned scientific program. The experiments primarily focused on practicing fine motor skills in zero-gravity conditions. In particular, FEDOR used a drill and a towel, manipulated electrical connectors, and performed other operations.
The CTC announced in July 2024 that cosmonauts would be involved in testing a program for using the Marfa anthropomorphic robot, which was intended to potentially operate on the lunar surface in future.
