The agreement ensures that Astrobee, a platform designed to automate routine maintenance and monitoring tasks, will remain active and available for research. It also supports NASA’s broader goal of developing autonomous robotic assistants to help reduce reliance on astronauts during future missions to the Moon and Mars.
Supporting Human Missions with Autonomous Systems
As NASA refocuses on deep space exploration, including plans to return astronauts to the Moon and prepare for eventual missions to Mars, autonomous technology is becoming increasingly essential. Astrobee, first launched to the ISS in 2018, was developed as a testbed for robotics that can work alongside human crews in orbit.
The system includes three cube-shaped, free-flying robots—Bumble, Honey, and Queen—each about 12.5 inches wide. A standout feature of these robots is a perching arm that allows them to grip handrails aboard the station, helping them conserve energy between tasks or stay in place to assist astronauts. When their batteries run low, they can independently return to their docking station to recharge.
Together, their mobility, self-reliance, and ability to manipulate objects make Astrobee a critical step toward developing robotic systems that can support long-duration space missions, especially in environments where constant human presence isn’t possible.
Transitioning to Commercial Partnership
The new partnership with Arkisys marks a shift in how the Astrobee system will be maintained and used going forward. In March 2025, NASA issued a call for proposals seeking commercial support for ongoing space research initiatives. Arkisys was selected in response, and will now help ensure the Astrobee platform remains operational without the need for continued direct funding from NASA.
Importantly, the agreement also keeps Astrobee accessible to a broad range of users across industry and academia. That means the platform can continue serving as a research tool for testing new technologies in microgravity, even as NASA focuses its internal resources on other priorities.
This model supports NASA’s broader strategy of building a sustainable low Earth orbit economy, where government and commercial players work together to maintain valuable assets and accelerate innovation.
Since arriving at the ISS, the Astrobee robots have taken on a wide range of tasks, from internal monitoring to simulated alert scenarios, all while operating in coordination with astronauts onboard. These demonstrations offer more than just proof of concept; they provide critical data on how autonomous systems perform in a real-world space environment.
They also offer insight into how human-robot teams can operate effectively, which will be vital for future missions that require both collaboration and independence in harsh, remote environments.
Looking Ahead
Astrobee may have launched in 2018, but its mission is far from finished. With Arkisys now stepping in to help keep the system running, NASA ensures that this unique robotic platform stays not just alive, but active, ready for new experiments, new users, and new questions.
That continuity matters. Years of development, testing, and on-orbit refinement have made Astrobee more than a research project; it’s become a trusted part of the space station’s daily rhythm. Its hardware is flight-proven, its software well-integrated, and its potential still very much untapped.
By opening up operations to commercial support, NASA is doing more than offloading maintenance; it’s creating room for more people to get involved. Researchers from universities, startups, or larger aerospace firms now have a living platform to test ideas in real microgravity. And because the infrastructure is already there, they don’t have to start from scratch.
This shift also speaks to how NASA’s approach is evolving. Rather than retiring systems once their initial missions end, the agency is looking at how to keep them going, and how to make them useful for others. Astrobee is a working example of that mindset: share the tools, keep the science moving, and invite more hands to help shape what comes next.
Disclaimer: The views expressed here are those of the author expressed in their private capacity and do not necessarily represent the views of AZoM.com Limited T/A AZoNetwork the owner and operator of this website. This disclaimer forms part of the Terms and conditions of use of this website.