Android astronaut Kirobo wants toy rocket for Christmas

Photo: AP photo

Japanese astronaut robot Kirobo completed its first mission to the ISS. The robot interacted with astronaut Koichi Wakata. When the astronaut asked the robot what gift he wanted for Christmas, the android robot said that he wanted a toy rocket.

Kirobo also wondered how Wakata was feeling in weightlessness. He said that he had become accustomed to conditions of the spacecraft was not experiencing any discomfort.

First android astronaut Kirobo was conceived by Japanese scientists as a companion for astronauts on board spaceship. It is programmed to detect faces, voices, gestures and speech. The robot can also choose words and build sentences. Kirobo is programmed to communicate in Japanese. It was launched on August 4, 2013 and will accompany Koichi Wakata, a Japanese astronaut, till the end of next year.