India's ISRO Picked a Humanoid Robot to Work in Space

So basically: A robotics startup from Pune, India called Muks Robotics says ISRO, India’s space agency, picked it to build SPACEO Prime. It’s a humanoid robot that walks on two legs, and they’re calling it the “world’s first humanoid space worker.” The idea is it does the dangerous or boring jobs so astronauts don’t have to.

Who is Muks Robotics

Muks started in 2021. The founder is Dr Mukesh Bangar. The name stands for Machine Understanding & Knowledge Synthesis, which is a mouthful.

They already make a couple robots:

• SPACEO M1 for service jobs, like greeting people
• SPACEO Pro for factory and industrial work

SPACEO Prime is the new one. It’s the two legged version built for extreme places, and their website literally says it’s made for Mars missions.

What they’ve shown so far

Back in July they showed Prototype-01. They said they built it in just two months by using parts from their SPACEO Pro robot. They also said they got their first customer order before it was even finished.

The founder was pretty upfront that it’s an early test version, not the final design. He said it’ll take 100+ rounds of testing and redesign to get it right.

What we don’t know

This is the part to keep in mind. Pretty much all of this comes from Muks itself. The company announced it on social media and Indian outlets picked it up.

What hasn’t been shared:

• What mission it’s for
• When it would actually go to space
• Any real specs
• How much ISRO is putting into it

idrw.org pointed out the announcement didn’t say if this is for a real mission, a tech demo or just a research project. I also couldn’t find ISRO saying anything about it themselves yet. So for now it’s “the company says ISRO picked them.”

ISRO and robots

This isn’t ISRO’s first robot. They have Vyommitra, a half humanoid robot (no legs) that’s supposed to fly on an uncrewed Gaganyaan test flight before India sends its own astronauts up. That’s the robot in the picture up top.

SPACEO Prime would be a step past that. Full body, walking, actually doing work.

Why robots in space makes sense

Space is dangerous. Spacewalks are risky, slow and super expensive. Anything a robot can do outside the station or on the Moon or Mars is one less thing a person has to risk their life for.

NASA has been at this for years with Robonaut and Valkyrie. China is pushing robots for its Moon plans. Now India wants in, and they want it built in India.

What it might actually do

Nobody’s said exactly, but based on what Muks and ISRO have talked about, think stuff like checking equipment, carrying tools, fixing things outside a spacecraft, or setting up gear on the Moon before people get there. Basically the jobs that are risky or take forever in a bulky suit.

The reason for making it human shaped is simple. Everything up there is built for human hands. Tools, handles, panels. A robot shaped like us can use the same stuff without redesigning everything.

My take

I like it, but I’m not going crazy over it yet. A startup saying the space agency picked them is a big deal for them, but until ISRO says something and we see a timeline, it’s early.

Still, a two month old prototype getting attention from a space agency is pretty wild. Humanoids in factories was the first step. Humanoids in space feels like the next one, and India’s not waiting around.

What job in space would you give a robot first?