Dextre at Work
What's the world's most complex space robot doing up there? In June 2008, Dextre was moved atop the Destiny Laboratory Module of the International Space Station (ISS), completing tasks prior to the the STS-124 mission's deployment of Japan's Kibo pressurized science laboratory.
Dextre, built by the Canadian Space Agency, has arms more than 9 feet in length and can attach power tools as fingers. Behind Dextre is the blackness of space, while Earth looms over Dextre's head. The Kibo laboratory segment that was deployed during space shuttle Discovery's trip to the ISS can be pressurized and contains racks of scientific experiment that will be used to explore how plants brace themselves against gravity and how water might be inhibited from freezing in cells under microgravity, as well as other experiments.