Friendly seal robots are being tested before being launched to Mars. They will help the astronauts

Japanese engineers' goal is to help astronauts cope with stress during space exploration

and other planets. To do this, they developed “friendly machines” that are controlled by artificial intelligence and “tested them.”

So, astronauts preparing for a missionon Mars, accompanied by a seal during a two-week simulation. The goal is to see if it helped them cope with their stress levels. They now perform similar tasks here on Earth, working with older adults and children with autism.

The crew of six people underwent a two-weeksimulation of a Mars mission at the American Mars Desert Research Station. Potential astronauts conducted first aid exercises, grew their own food, and performed other tasks. They also tested Paro, a therapeutic robot with artificial intelligence in the form of a baby harp seal. The first half of the group interacted with Paro during the first week, and the second half during the second.

It is equipped with two 32-bit processors, threemicrophones, 12 tactile sensors, touch-sensitive whiskers and a network of motors and actuators that move limbs and bodies both realistically and silently. “The data will be useful to support research on future analogue missions,” the report states. However, the specific results of the study have not yet been published. However, robots have been actively used since 1998 to help patients with dementia and not only in Japan, Hong Kong, the USA and Europe.

For the astronauts who took partin the November simulations, were observed as they interacted with the robot. The results will be compared to a control group to determine the effect on stress levels.

Paro is also ideal for tensespace mission, the developers believe. The journey to Mars alone is expected to last six months, while work on the planet will take two years. Therefore, the crew of the Mars mission will be very isolated, and four people will be in a very limited space. This is a very stressful situation.

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