Robotic Laboratory Automation

Close-up images of robotic arms and laboratory automation systems, showcasing technology involved in sample handling and testing in a scientific setting.

Close-up of a robotic arm with mechanical components engaged in the vinyl record stamping process against a red backdrop.
262 assets in this story
1746-21131698
Difference engine, an automatic mechanical calculator designed to tabulate polynomial functions, designed by Charles Babbage (1791-1871) an English polymath, mathematician, philosopher, inventor and mechanical engineer. Dated 19th Century
1525-20765182
Microscope against blue gradient background
6145-45214927
jsc2019e052824 (8/23/2019) --- Preflight view of the CommuBioS Payload Enclosure. Complex Micro()-Biological System (CommuBioS) studies the aging of complex multicomponent liquids during long-term storage in space. It stores samples of wine, a chemically complex liquid, on the space station and compares the samples with those stored in an aging facility on the ground to determine the effect of the space environment on specific components. Results advance knowledge of the evolution of compounds that are critical for the nutrition and taste of foods. Image courtesy of: NanoRacks
6145-44739355
SL-J Space Shuttle Frog Embryology Experiment (FEU) flight hardware
6203-V58748719
6177-V53453617
1746-29962052
VB-3 cycling machine used to train for space flights aboard Salyut-7 space station, Mir orbital complex and the International Space Station.
6145-44897826
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - The instrument package and capsule built by Rocket University participants for a high-altitude balloon flight. The test flight was used to evaluate the stability of an instrumented capsule as it fell to Earth before its parachute opened. Rocket University is a program of courses, workshops, labs and projects offered to engineering and research pros of all stripes to keep their skills fresh and broaden their experiences.
1838-76241318
Olympus CX23 Microscope, Columbia University BioBus, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA
6145-45215219
jsc2019e051830 --- FLUMIAS-DEA miniaturized fluorescence microscope loaded in TangoLab-2. Image courtesy of: Airbus
6145-44740413
Robotics Laboratory Spectrometer w/Charles Gray
4128R-13591001
Hydrogen fuel cell, close up.
4128-V58565939
6145-44831756
iss024e014714 (9/15/2010) --- A view of a Bioecology Case containing a stowed BTKh-27 ASTROVAKTSINA (Astrovaccine) payload aboard the International Space Station (ISS). The Cultivating Escheria coli Producer of CAF1 Protein in Weightlessness (Astrovaktsina) studies the effect of spaceflight factors on the processes of biosynthesis, secretion, capsule formation, and the biological properties of the E. coli producer of the genetically engineered CAF1 antigen protein of Yersinia pestis during its exposure to microgravity.
4128-V58565920
1815-16116247
Directly above shot of scientist holding medical vaccine sample over laptop at laboratory desk
6145-45177025
NASA Glenn researcher Tim Peshek shows off a new type of ultrathin solar cell, known as a perovskite’ because of its structure. These solar cells show promise for space applications because of their high efficiency and radiation tolerance and open the door to extremely low cost and large solar arrays for spacecraft or lunar surface habitats.
6058-V28697376
1525-25279664
rotor electromotor and technical drawing
6145-45155351
Veggie Passive Orbital Nutrient Delivery System (PONDS) units are being prepared for seed planting inside a laboratory at the Space Station Processing Facility at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Veggie PONDS is a direct follow-on to the Veg-01 and Veg-03 hardware and plant growth validation tests. The primary goal of this newly developed plant growing system, Veggie PONDS, is to demonstrate uniform plant growth. PONDS units have features that are designed to mitigate microgravity effects on water distribution, increase oxygen exchange and provide sufficient room for root zone growth. PONDS is planned for use during Veg-04 and Veg-05 on the International Space Station after the Veggie PONDS Validation flights on SpaceX-14 and OA-9.
1525-24508543
The arab chemist working in the lab office. Arab chemist working in the lab office
4409-17216407
Joan Vila-Grau en su estudio haciendo los vitrales de la sagrada Familia.
4128-111582262
Light microscope eye piece.
4128-V58570339
6145-44897681
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - The instrument package built by Rocket University participants for a high-altitude balloon flight. The test flight was used to evaluate the stability of an instrumented capsule as it fell to Earth before its parachute opened. Rocket University is a program of courses, workshops, labs and projects offered to engineering and research pros of all stripes to keep their skills fresh and broaden their experiences.
5514-69435434
Volunteer scientists and conservationists monitor migratory Rufous Hummingbirds (Selasphorus rufus) as a part of the Hummingbird Monitoring Network. Birds are aged, sexed, weighed
5514-V71364893
6145-48824684
NTS A88 608 06-17-88 SANDIA NATIONAL LABS NEW EQUIPMENT FAULTY DESIGN GEENE (PROJECT ENGINEER) Publication Date: 6/17/1988 EQUIPMENT; EQUIPMENT & INSTRUMENTS; FAULTY; FAULTY DESIGN; GREENE, DAVID; INSTRUMENTS & EQUIPMENT; INSTRUMENTS AND EQUIPMENT; MULTICOLORED; NEVADA; NEVADA TEST SITE; NEW EQUIPMENT; NTS; NUCLEAR ENERGY TECHNOLOGY; NUCLEAR TESTING; NUCLEAR TESTS; PARTS & COMPONENTS (EXC BLDGS); PARTS AND COMPONENTS; SANDIA NATIONAL LABORATORIES; TEST SITES; UGT; UNDERGROUND TESTING; WEAPONS TECHNOLOGY historical images. 1972 - 2012. Department of Energy. National Nuclear Security Administration. Photographs Related to Nuclear Weapons Testing at the Nevada Test Site.
4128-V58566039
6145-45094437
NICERs X-ray concentrator optics are inspected under a black light for dust and foreign object debris that could impair functionality once in space. The payloads 56 mirror assemblies concentrate X-rays onto silicon detectors to gather data that will probe the interior makeup of neutron stars, including those that appear to flash regularly, called pulsars. The Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER) is a NASA Explorer Mission of Opportunity dedicated to studying the extraordinary environments — strong gravity, ultra-dense matter, and the most powerful magnetic fields in the universe — embodied by neutron stars. An attached payload aboard the International Space Station, NICER will deploy an instrument with unique capabilities for timing and spectroscopy of fast X-ray brightness fluctuations. The embedded Station Explorer for X-ray Timing and Navigation Technology demonstration (SEXTANT) will use NICER data to validate, for the first time in space, technology that exploits p
4128R-15465939
Photonics laboratory
6145-44622458
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - A closeup of one of the solar cells that will be removed and replaced on the Swift spacecrafts solar array. Swift is a first-of-its-kind, multi-wavelength observatory dedicated to the study of gamma-ray burst (GRB) science. Its three instruments will work together to observe GRBs and afterglows in the gamma-ray, X-ray, ultraviolet and optical wavebands. The main mission objectives for Swift are to determine the origin of gamma-ray bursts, classify gamma-ray bursts and search for new types, determine how the blast wave evolves and interacts with the surroundings, use gamma-ray bursts to study the early universe and perform the first sensitive hard X-ray survey of the sky. Swift is scheduled to launch Oct. 26 from Launch Pad 17-A, CCAFS, on a Boeing Delta 7320 rocket.
6145-44541785
EXTENSIONAL RHEOLOGY EXPERIMENT
6145-44594500
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - NASA Project Manager Fred Ahmay holds a Biological Research in Canisters (BRIC) container in which C. elegans nemotodes (round worms) were found. The container was part of a middeck experiment that was among the Columbia debris recovered in East Texas. The worms are descendants of those that were part of an experiment that flew on Columbia's last mission, STS-107. The experiment was designed to verify a new synthetic nutrient solution for an International Space Station (ISS) "model" specimen planned to be used extensively for ISS gene expression studies and was sponsored by the NASA Ames Research Center. Scientists are now looking over the experiment at KSC to determine if it will yield any scientific results. The investigation into the cause of the Columbia accident is ongoing.
6145-44465503
A view of the MVP-Plant-01 Petri plates with seedlings. Plant RNA Regulation Redux in Multi-use Variable-gravity Platform (MVP-Plant-01) profiles and monitors shoot and root development in plants in microgravity, in order to understand the molecular mechanisms and regulatory networks behind how plants sense and adapt to changes in their environment
1525-25248382
mechanical scheme and bearing
6177-V53550362
1746-28969050
Petrological light microscope. Cooke, Troughton & Simms Ltd, York. Dated 1983
6145-45137412
In their Swamp Works laboratory at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Dr. Carlos Calle and Jay Phillips are testing an electrostatic precipitator using dust that closely approximates the make-up of that on Mars. They upgraded their electrostatic precipitator to fully simulate Martian atmosphere by designing and constructing a dust aerosolization pre-chamber. The agency's Journey to Mars requires cutting-edge technologies to solve the problems explorers will face on the Red Planet. Scientists are developing some of the needed solutions by adapting a device to remove the ever-present dust from valuable elements in the Martian atmosphere. Those commodities include oxygen, water and methane.
6177-V53442278
5514-V78041794
1848-55068752
Laboratory ant with sugar solution, experiments, sugar solution, lateral
6145-44467269
A view of the Rhodium Probiotic Challenge samples aboard the International Space Station (ISS). the Swinburne Youth Space Innovation Challenge 2021: Microgravity Production of a Probiotic Yoghurt Using Active Bacterial Cultures (Rhodium Probiotic Challenge) tests methods for producing yoghurt in space.
6145-44587625
Colored oil flow toy was part of a student-designed apparatus used in the second Dropping in a Microgravity Environment (DIME) competition held April 23-25, 2002, at NASA's Glenn Research Center. Competitors included two teams from Sycamore High School, Cincinnati, OH, and one each from Bay High School, Bay Village, OH, and COSI Academy, Columbus, OH. DIME is part of NASA's education and outreach activities. Details are on line at http //microgravity.grc.nasa.gov/DIME_2002.html.
6145-45172827
Dr. Carlos Calle, lead scientist in the Electrostatics and Surface Physics Laboratory at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, prepares an Electrostatic Dust Shield for testing on Thursday, July 19, 2018. Scientists are developing the Electrostatic Dust Shield to help mitigate the problem of dust on equipment, astronauts' space suits and helmet visors of astronauts exploring the Moon or Mars. The device is slated for analysis aboard International Space Station in the spring of 2019 to verify the effects of the space environment.
4389-2505
Survival of the Elements
4128-V58557811
6145-45224027
A model of the inside of Orion is seen at the NASA exhibit during the 70th International Astronautical Congress, Friday, Oct. 25, 2019, at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington.
6145-45113686
ss048e061332 (08/19/2016) --- Checking the space gloves before and after a spacewalk is part of the detailed check list astronauts go through to provide absolute safety. Both NASA astronaut Jeff Williams and Kate Rubens took part in the important inspections before and after their 19 Aug 2016 spacewalk to install a new docking adapter . A cut in the glove could subject the astronaut to the extreme temperatures of outer space and the escape of oxygen, both of which could be fatal.
1525R-36404
Chemistry Lab and Papers
1899-65072
Computer software used for analysis of blood samples
1848-54919791
Upper jaw model being cut
6145-45127022
APEX-04, or Advanced Plant EXperiments-04, is being prepared in a cold room in the Kennedy Space Center Processing Facility for SpaceX-10. The 30 petri plates are bundled into groups of 10 and placed into one of three science kits. The science kits allow easy handling when the crew removes the plates from cold stowage on station. Dr. Anna Lisa Paul of the University of Florida is the principal investigator for APEX-04. Apex-04 is an experiment involving Arabidopsis in petri plates inside the Veggie facility aboard the International Space Station. Since Arabidopsis is the genetic model of the plant world, it is a perfect sample organism for performing genetic studies in spaceflight. The experiment is the result of a grant from NASAs Space Life and Physical Sciences division.
6145-45046950
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, portions of the Advanced Plant Experiment, or APEX, experiment are checked out as it is prepared for launch to the International Space Station aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft. Scheduled for launch on March 16 atop a Falcon 9 rocket, Dragon will be marking its fourth trip to the space station. The SpaceX-3 mission is the third of 12 flights contracted by NASA to resupply the orbiting laboratory.
4389-2101
Mars Underground Mole
4450-59784760
Chemistry laboratory at a university chemistry department .
1570R-124778
A person checking the oil in a car engine
1525-20605313
mechanism of old pocket watch
6145-54232406
The Clavicle Matching Program (CMP) is a computer program that compares the shape of collarbones to better help the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency find a possible match to someone still missing. When historical data, DNA and other contextual information aren't available to narrow down the list, the CMP can be used. First, the clavicles in each of the radiographs were digitally traced to create an outline. Then the clavicles in the lab are 3D scanned using a surface scanner (Artec Space Spider). The CMP compares the scans from multiple angles to the traced outlines and identifies any similarities. The program can create a shortlist of names for further analysis that may lead to identification. The pictured elements are part of the Agency's reference collection and do not depict casework.
4128-V58566343
6203-V56645435
6203-V58749441