In Photos: Robonaut 2, NASA's Robot Butler for Astronauts

By Tariq Malik
published

Who's Going to Drive You Home Tonight?

NASA/JSC

Former astronaut Bruce McCandless operates Robonaut B, mounted on its Segway scooter robotic mobile platform.

An American Robot

NASA

NASA's Robonaut 2, or R2, humanoid robot poses like a champion with the American flag while sitting atop a hill and riding its new wheeled base, Centaur 2, at the Johnson Space Center Planetary Analog Test Site in Houston.

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Tariq Malik
Tariq Malik
Editor-in-Chief

Tariq is the Editor-in-Chief of Space.com and joined the team in 2001, first as an intern and staff writer, and later as an editor. He covers human spaceflight, exploration and space science, as well as skywatching and entertainment. He became Space.com's Managing Editor in 2009 and Editor-in-Chief in 2019. Before joining Space.com, Tariq was a staff reporter for The Los Angeles Times covering education and city beats in La Habra, Fullerton and Huntington Beach. In October 2022, Tariq received the Harry Kolcum Award for excellence in space reporting from the National Space Club Florida Committee. He is also an Eagle Scout (yes, he has the Space Exploration merit badge) and went to Space Camp four times as a kid and a fifth time as an adult. He has journalism degrees from the University of Southern California and New York University. You can find Tariq at Space.com and as the co-host to the This Week In Space podcast with space historian Rod Pyle on the TWiT network. To see his latest project, you can follow Tariq on Twitter @tariqjmalik.