NASA’s Valkyrie robot embarks on a new mission half a world away from its home at Johnson Space Center in Houston. As part of a reimbursable Space Act agreement with Woodside Energy in Perth, Western Australia, NASA plans to use the Valkyrie robot to develop remote mobile-skill capabilities for remote maintenance of unmanned and offshore energy facilities. Woodside Energy will test the resulting software and help accelerate the development of robotics by providing data and feedback to NASA.

As part of this second paid collaboration with Woodside, Valkyrie will expand its robotic remote operations capabilities that can improve the efficiency of Woodside’s offshore and remote operations, as well as improve safety for both personnel and the environment. Additionally, the new capabilities could have applications for NASA’s Artemis missions and other terrestrial robotic targets.

NASA plans to use Valkyrie’s experience at its Woodside facilities to learn how to better design robots to operate in polluted and hazardous environments similar to those found on the Moon.

Remotely operated mobile robots on the lunar and Martian surface could allow ground operators to perform critical operations even when the astronauts are not physically present. This activity includes inspection and maintenance of infrastructure and factories that use resources and materials to produce new items that allow astronauts to live on land. Woodside’s test will also provide valuable data for NASA engineers to use advanced robots in similar ground-based applications.

“We are excited to begin the next phase of developing and testing advanced robotic systems that can positively impact life on Earth by enabling safer operations in hazardous environments,” said Sean Azimi, NASA Johnson Robotics Team Leader. . “These demonstrations will assess the current potential of advanced robots to expand human reach and help humanity explore and work safely, everywhere.”

To deliver the robot, a team of nimble NASA robotics from Johnson traveled to Woodside headquarters in Perth, Western Australia. The team prepared the Valkyrie robot and trained the Woodside team about the robot’s operation. The culmination of the work was the visit of Western Australian government representatives and the US Consul General in Perth.

Valkyrie and other advanced mobile robots could be vital tools that allow humans to remotely control dangerous jobs and offload tedious and repetitive tasks; this allows people to work in higher-level tasks, including robot deployment and maintenance. These principles apply to both space and Earth, where companies understand the value of human-scale robots.

Using robots to augment Artemis missions could help humanity establish a long-term presence on the surface of the Moon and someday on other planets such as Mars. Through national and international commercial partnerships, NASA is building the next generation of human-scale robotic capabilities.

Supporting Valkyrie’s development on Earth will generate learned data and lessons that NASA teams will apply to current and future robotics and automation developments for use in space. NASA will apply the software development work done on Valkyrie to future hardware releases and will conduct operational demonstrations with Woodside as part of a paid collaboration 2026-2027 to validate the robot’s capabilities in suitable remote operational environments. Source