We spoke with Professor Kim to discuss how he adapted technology for the cosmos and the breakthrough that keeps NASA’s robots on track. Saving space robots with digital twin navigationThe International Space Station is a colossal orbital laboratory, roughly the size of a soccer field. Inside the Japanese Experiment Module ’Kibo’, a free-flying NASA robot named Astrobee is hard at work. His time at the agency revealed that terrestrial drones and space robots share the same theoretical foundation, despite their vastly different environments. Professor Kim points to the robust U.S. ecosystem of manufacturers specializing in ’space-grade’ components capable of withstanding extreme conditions.