Surgical robotic support for long duration space missions

Robotic technology provides advanced solutions for new challenges in human space exploration. The aim of this paper is to identify the potential risks and to present the concept of a robotic surgical support system that could accompany the first astronauts to their historical journey to Mars. By integrating cutting-edge mechatronic equipment, semi-autonomous robots could ensure the medical support for a 2-3-year-long mission through teleoperation and telementoring. Besides the several advantages, there are some serious drawbacks of the concept that should be dealt with. Most important is the latency occurred from the transmission through long distance. Different methods are examined to overcome the difficulties in surgery robot control caused by the communication lag time. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.