CNN —A tiny surgical robot in residence at the International Space Station completed its first surgery demo in zero gravity on Saturday, developers of the technology exclusively told CNN. A robotic tool built for spaceThe robot is only 2 pounds (0.9 kilogram), and its compact microwave-size design makes it a lightweight instrument fit for space travel. SpaceMIRA hitched a ride on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on January 30 from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and arrived at the space station on February 1. One of the challenges when attempting to control a robot in space from Earth is latency, or the time delay between when the command is sent and the robot receives it. “Five seconds would be an eternity in surgery, and a split second or a half a second is going to be significant.

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Persons: —, Shane Farritor, ” Farritor, SpaceMIRA, Farritor, Michael Jobst, ”, Jobst, ” Jobst, “, that’s Organizations: CNN, NASA, SpaceX, Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force, University of Nebraska Locations: Lincoln , Nebraska, Florida’s, Mississippi, MIRA