When astronauts aboard the International Space Station need some help with routine tasks, they rely upon a trio of helpers that are not only competent but cute.
Bumble, Honey and Queen are cube-shaped, candy-colored robots about the size of toaster with glowing "eyes" on their touchscreen interface. Together they're known as Astrobee, a free-flying robotic system developed by NASA and launched to the ISS in 2018 and 2019 to assist astronauts, conduct research and serve as a platform for developing and testing new technologies.
Now, a new collaboration involving USC is taking shape that will expand research using these endearing robots.
NASA announced in September that Arkisys - a Los Alamitos-based company founded by David Barnhart, director of the USC Space Engineering Research Center and research professor in the Department of Astronautical Engineering at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering - was selected from a pool of industry contenders as the commercial sustaining and maintenance partner for NASA's Astrobee mission. Arkisys, which develops platforms that allow businesses to establish a presence in space, will maintain the Astrobee robotic system and continue enabling scientists around the world to use it as a testbed for emerging technologies.
Barnhart's goal is to create a regional space research consortium focused on Astrobee in which USC will play a leading role. The collaboration will leverage the Astrobee research initiated at the NASA Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley, where the robotic system was designed and built, to the Los Angeles area, taking advantage of the nexus of new space and academic institutes in the region.
"By bringing together the research strengths of USC and other leading institutions across the region with Arkisys' role as NASA's implementation partner for Astrobee, we are growing this one-of-a-kind orbital test platform to be part of an ecosystem where academia, industry and government can work side-by-side for next-generation space innovations," said Barnhart, who is also CEO of Arkisys.
"Professor Barnhart's success with the NASA Astrobee proposal is a powerful example of how USC's innovators are advancing space technologies in partnership with industry," said Ishwar K. Puri, USC's senior vice president of research and innovation. "This collaboration with Arkisys not only strengthens our leadership in space research and robotics but also exemplifies USC's commitment to translating discovery into real-world impact. We are proud to see this project take flight, as it reflects the spirit of innovation and interdisciplinary excellence that defines USC."
Collaborative effort will strengthen space research capacity in Southern California
In its proposal to NASA, Arkisys underscored the strength of the Southern California academic community, identifying USC as an initial collaborator and including letters of support from faculty representing seven other universities. Building on that momentum, Arkisys and USC have now signed a memorandum of understanding as part of a broader effort to engage universities across the region. The initiative aims to expand opportunities for research, innovation and student participation in the rapidly growing field of in-space operations and technology development.
"This collaboration with Arkisys places Southern California universities at the heart of the next era of space innovation with USC as an anchor for research partnerships," said Erin Overstreet, executive director of the USC Stevens Center for Innovation, who is working with Arkisys on the agreement. "This agreement opens doors for students, faculty and partners from across Southern California to test, build and deploy new space technologies - helping to strengthen the region's role as a hub for the growing space economy."
"This successful NASA Astrobee proposal highlights the strength of USC's research community and its ability to collaborate effectively with innovative partners like Arkisys," said Steven O. Moldin, USC's associate vice president of research strategy and innovation, who is shepherding the agreement between USC and Arkisys. "David Barnhart's leadership demonstrates how cutting-edge academic research can translate into pioneering technological applications that push the boundaries of space exploration. This project is a testament to USC's growing impact in federally funded research and our commitment to advancing science that serves both discovery and society."
As part of LA Tech Week in October, Arkisys presented "Astrobee Returns to Flight: Re-igniting Robotic Research and Innovation on the ISS" at the USC Information Sciences Institute. The presentation explored how leading the Astrobee project and collaborating with USC and other universities will allow Arkisys to bring fresh momentum to robotics, science and innovation aboard the ISS.
A testing ground for space technology
Barnhart shepherded the precursor to Astrobee, called SPHERES, during his time as program manager at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. After helping transition this MIT-created program to NASA's Ames Research Center, he became involved with the Astrobee mission in 2023, when he was the principal investigator on a research project that sent USC technology to the ISS. He and his students, advised by Adarsh Rajguru, an astronautics doctoral candidate, developed a docking system called CLINGERS to facilitate rendezvous and proximity operations in space. Onboard the space station, CLINGERS was attached to separate Astrobee robots and performed tests to explore various new docking and capture procedures.
The Astrobee project overlaps with the mission of Arkisys, which Barnhart founded in 2015 with the goal of expanding space commerce. The company designs and develops reusable space platforms and vessels ("Port Modules") that can support up to 60 customers at one time and can be aggregated to make very large platforms. This enables low-cost, lease-based access to space platforms for new innovations, manufacturing and creative assemblies.
"What the company focuses on is making it fast, easy and efficient to enable anybody not just to test things in space, but to grow their payload, business or mission post-launch," said Rahul Rughani, Arkisys' chief systems engineer. "Astrobee is truly a microcosm of that goal."
Together, Arkisys' Port Module architecture and the Astrobee will establish a pipeline that enables faster, more reliable deployment of new technology and robotic missions in space.
Carrying forth NASA's vision
Since its arrival at the International Space Station, Astrobee has advanced NASA's goal of developing robotic systems that can support humans as they return to the moon, journey to Mars and venture farther into space for longer durations.
Researchers have been teaching the robots to carry out tasks related to spacecraft monitoring and maintenance autonomously. In the future, robotic helpers like the Astrobee fleet may manage routine chores, freeing up astronauts for more complex work, and maintain spacecraft while human crews are away.
Arkisys, USC and other regional collaborators will work with the NASA Ames Research Center; the George C. Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.; and the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in Houston to continue the legacy of Astrobee as a testbed for groundbreaking science, technology demonstrations, and in-space servicing, assembly and manufacturing (ISAM) advancements.
USC researchers have a long history of collaboration with NASA through its Department of Astronautical Engineering. One of the first academic programs in the United States devoted to astronautical engineering, the program has made contributions to research, industry partnerships and student-led achievements. The Space Engineering Research Center, led by Barnhart, is a joint venture between the department and the USC Information Sciences Institute. Professor Garrett Reisman is a former NASA astronaut who has participated in missions aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour and the Space Shuttle Atlantis. Dan Erwin, department chair, is closely connected with the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory and currently holds the position of JPL visiting researcher.
Professor Mike Gruntman has contributed to the science behind multiple NASA space missions and has received several NASA awards and grants for research and development projects. Professor Joseph Wang holds a joint appointment at JPL and USC. He has been a principal investigator on many NASA projects, including the ion propulsion investigation on NASA's Deep Space 1 mission, the first interplanetary mission using ion propulsion. The department's newest faculty member, Assistant Professor Keenan Albee, previously supported an Astrobee mission during his time at MIT and worked in JPL's robotics section; he continues to collaborate with NASA colleagues in extreme environment robotic autonomy.
