Int Ball Drone Activated on the Space Station
Explanation:
What if you were followed around by a
cute
floating ball that kept taking your picture?
Then you might be an astronaut on today's
International Space Station (ISS).
Designed by the
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), the
JEM Internal Ball Camera -- informally "Int-Ball" -- is a bit larger than a
softball,
can float and maneuver by itself but also be controlled remotely, can take high resolution
images and videos, and is not related to
Hello Kitty.
Int-Ball was delivered to the
ISS
in early June and is designed to allow ground-control to increase the monitoring
of
ISS
equipment and activities while decreasing time demands on
human astronauts.
Int-Ball
moves by turning on small internal fans and
sees with a camera located between its two dark eyes.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
