First remote surgery in space paves the way for Mars mission

A team of doctors on Earth has performed the first ‘remote control surgery’ in space using a robot on the International Space Station (ISS).

The breakthrough medical procedure, which saw surgeons cut artificial human tissue through a rubber band, is said to be a breakthrough that could pave the way for a new era of space medicine on Mars and the like. can facilitate long-range missions beyond

A robot called SpaceMIRA, created by engineers at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in the United States, completes commands in several times less than a second, and this speed is faster than similar remote-controlled surgical robots currently in use on Earth. is more

However, it is short enough to perform a range of surgeries that were previously impossible without a specialist on hand.

“These surgeries will enable us to go on more long-duration missions from Earth,” said NASA astronaut Jasmine Moghbeli. So it’s a real game changer.’

Virtual Incision, a private company that developed the robot, said the SpaceMIRA is currently the only robotic surgery tool with a small footprint suitable for space missions.

NASA has been researching and investing in this technology for decades in hopes of one day using it on deep space missions. An orbit around Mars, part of the US space agency’s ‘Horizon Goals’, is expected to take about two years to complete.

In a blog post describing the mission, NASA wrote: ‘Long space missions raise the possibility that crew members may require surgical procedures, whether it’s simple stitches or an emergency appendectomy.’

The post added that ‘the results of this investigation may contribute to the development of robotic systems to perform this procedure.’

In addition to long-duration space missions, Virtual Incision said its robot could be used to perform surgeries at remote locations on Earth, giving any operating room the option of accessing an expert surgeon.

“Having our technology in space is just as exciting and we hope the impact of this research will be most noticeable on Earth,” said John Murphy, the company’s chief executive.

According to him: ‘The introduction of mini-RAS robots into every operating room has the potential to revolutionize the field of medicine.’