Japan sends floating camera drone to the International Space Station

RESTRICTIONS: NONE

The Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency has developed a cute, floating camera drone that can lighten the workload of astronauts on the International Space Station.

The Int-Ball weighs 1 kg and has a diameter of 15 cm. It uses existing drone technology of Miniaturized Attitude Control Sensors and Actuators in an All-in-one Module.

The drone arrived the Japanese Experiment Module "Kibo" on the International Space Station on June 4 and is remotely controlled by the JAXA Tsukuba Space Center from the ground.

At the moment, astronauts on the ISS spend around 10 percent of their time just taking photos and videos. In the future, the Int-Ball is expected to take over the photography task from the space crew and will be able to operate autonomously. It will also be able to check on the space station supplies and diagnose onboard problems.

RUNDOWN SHOWS:
1. Size and interior of the Int-Ball
2. Int-Ball remotely controlled by space center from the ground
3. Int-Ball filming while space crew carrying out daily tasks

VOICEOVER (in English):

"The Int-Ball [b]weighs 1 kg and has a diameter of 15 cm. It uses the existing drone technology Miniaturized Attitude Control Sensors and Actuators in an All-in-one Module."

"The Int-Ball arrived the International Space Station last month and is remotely controlled by the JAXA [c]Tsukuba [d]Space Center from the ground."

"In the future, the Int-Ball is expected to take over photography duties from the space crew and will be able to operate autonomously."

SOURCES: New Atlas, JAXA, Japan Times

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