First space humanoid robot to tweet about his adventures

Toronto (ANI) - The first humanoid robot to visit space, Robonaut 2, will not only help out astronauts at the International Space Station in maintenance work, but would also tweet about his adventures in space.

As part of their mission to increase interest in space exploration, NASA engineers have created a Twitter account for Robonaut 2.

"Hello world! My name is Robonaut 2 - R2 for short. Follow my adventures here as I prepare for space!" the Globe and Mail quoted it as tweeting, or more accurately, its Johnson Space Center handlers in Houston typing.

The engineers will continue to send out 140-character messages when it lands at the space station.

Deputy project manager Nicolaus Radford said the tweets are meant to grab attention, engage the public more deeply in space exploration and eventually help inspire a new generation of engineers.

"We want you to come along for the ride," said Radford.

Apart from the Twitter publicity gambit, Robonaut 2 also has a serious purpose.

Radford said the robot would be engaged in maintenance tasks - smaller jobs that help the human astronauts focus on more complex work.

"You can kind of think of Robonaut as helping as a nurse would to a doctor in an operating room," said Radford.

In order to make the robot space-ready, engineers put it through rigorous testing to ensure it wouldn't be damaged by radiation, electromagnetic interference or vibrations during the launch.

"I'm not nervous! I have nerves of steel ... er ... aluminium," said one of the robot's Wednesday tweets.