“机器人旅馆”发射到国际空间站

Robots need a place to stay in space, too. NASA is attaching a “robot hotel” to the outside of the International Space Station with the upcoming launch of the Robotic Tool Stowage (RiTS), a protective storage unit for critical robotic tools.

On Dec. 4, RiTS is slated to launch aboard the 19th SpaceX commercial resupply mission. Its first residents will be two Robotic External Leak Locators (RELL). Outfitted with mass spectrometers capable of sniffing out the presence of gases such as ammonia, these robotic tools are used to detect leaks from the station. Two RELL units are on board the station right now: the first RELL launched in 2015, and it proved to be such a success that a second RELL was launched as a backup earlier this year.

In this image, RiTS spacewalk installation procedures were being tested in the Neutral Buoyancy Lab at Johnson Space Center in Houston.

Image Credit: NASA

机器人也需要在太空中停留的地方。美国国家航空航天局(NASA)将在国际空间站外部安装一个“机器人旅馆”，以迎接即将发射的机器人工具储藏箱(RiTS)， RiTS是一个用于存放重要机器人工具的保护性储存单元。

12月4日，RiTS将搭载SpaceX的第19次商业补给任务升空。它的首批居住者将是两个机器人外部泄漏定位器（RELL）。这些机器人工具配备了能够探测出氨等气体存在的质谱仪，可用于检测空间站的泄漏。目前，空间站上有两个RELL装置：第一个RELL于2015年发射，事实证明如此成功，第二个RELL于今年早些时候作为备份。

这张照片，RiTS太空行走的安装程序正在休斯顿约翰逊航天中心的中性浮力实验室进行测试。

图片来源:NASA