When they needed a helping hand in orbit, astronauts could count on NASA’s reliable Robonaut. Diane Tedeschi Robonaut 1A was a test unit in the robotics lab at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston.

Robonaut 1A is a remotely operated, experimental astronaut assistant developed by NASA and DARPA to handle tools and other small objects. In 2011 NASA sent Robonaut 2 to the International Space ...