Who knew gaming skills could be this essential for space exploration? Astronaut Jonny Kim is putting his video game experience to the ultimate test aboard the International Space Station, mastering advanced teleoperation robots. It’s not just fun and games; these missions could shape the future of planetary exploration. Imagine what next-level gaming could achieve in orbit!
This week, the International Space Station became a fascinating nexus of cutting-edge research and unexpected skill application, as Expedition 73 flight engineer Jonny Kim leveraged his lifelong passion for video gaming to advance robotic exploration and teleoperations for future space missions.
Astronaut Kim, renowned for his diverse background as a Navy SEAL and medical doctor, revealed another facet of his impressive capabilities by applying his “boyhood skills” in a series of innovative experiments. His journey from an avid gamer to an astronaut utilizing these talents underscores the evolving requirements for space exploration personnel.
Working in collaboration with the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Surface Avatar team, Kim meticulously tested advanced teleoperation protocols. This involved using a joystick and a sophisticated robotic arm controller, precisely mimicking human finger and wrist movements, offering unprecedented control over remote units.
Kim’s experience was enhanced by a heads-up display providing critical data like battery levels and location, alongside quick access to AI assistance or ground control. He noted the ability to enlarge a mini-map, revealing each robot’s perspective akin to a “fog of war” in strategy games, enabling parallel commands to multiple units, a crucial aspect for efficient International Space Station operations and future planetary missions.
A particularly exciting demonstration involved a rover equipped with a smaller, deployable unit capable of navigating confined spaces, such as caves. Kim highlighted this feature as feeling “straight out of a game but with real scientific potential,” emphasizing its importance for detailed scientific surveys in inaccessible extraterrestrial environments.
Beyond Kim’s groundbreaking work, the Expedition 73 crew also engaged in other vital scientific endeavors. Flight engineer Zena Cardman of NASA initiated the “Maturation of Vascularized Liver Tissue Construct in Zero Gravity” experiment, studying the impact of weightlessness on blood vessel development in 3D-printed liver tissue, a crucial step for long-duration space travel and medical advancements.
Concurrently, JAXA’s Kimiya Yui and NASA’s Mike Fincke collaborated on testing countermeasures for the fluid redistribution phenomenon in microgravity, a common physiological challenge for astronaut skills. Fincke wore a specialized thigh cuff while Yui meticulously recorded data, contributing to solutions that ensure crew health during extended periods in orbit.
The week also saw the arrival of a SpaceX CRS-33 resupply ship, delivering over 5,000 pounds of essential supplies. Crew members, including Jonny Kim, were actively involved in unloading cargo, while Mike Fincke and Kimiya Yui meticulously restowed frozen science samples, ensuring the continuous operation and scientific productivity of the orbital complex. NASA engineers remotely used the Canadarm2 to inspect a reboost kit, preparing for a critical altitude adjustment.
The Expedition 73 crew, comprising commander Sergey Ryzhikov and cosmonauts Alexey Zubritsky and Oleg Platonov from Roscosmos; NASA astronauts Jonny Kim, Zena Cardman, and Mike Fincke; and JAXA’s Kimiya Yui, continued their dedicated work. The station remained a bustling hub with SpaceX’s Dragon “Endeavour,” Roscosmos’ Soyuz MS-27, and Progress MS-30 and MS-31 cargo spacecraft docked, underscoring the collaborative nature of international space exploration.
