Space Umbrella
"What is it? The Space Umbrella is a robot with a hexagonal plate and an arm and legs connected. The plate will be made of three layers glass, mirror and a carbon fiber and polyethylene shield. The plate is 2 meters in diameter and 5 cm thick, the arm is 1 foot and the legs can extend up to 2 feet. What does it do? The arms and legs of the Space Umbrella will move it around the space station. The mirror will direct sunlight onto the space station's solar panels, possibly a Mars rover’s solar panels or onto the surface of mars to provide extra energy. The glass will protect the mirror and block Ultraviolet rays. The shield will act as a backup to the space station shell and protect the space station from radiation and micro asteroids. What does this mean? This robot will provide opportunities for expansion, make being an astronaut more enjoyable, test climate control and possibly save the space station. Firstly, this robot will provide excess power, meaning the space station can expand in the future. Secondly, when there is excess power, astronauts will be able to use it for fun, maybe even a video game! Thirdly, this robot will test how effective reflecting sunlight onto a body in space is, something which will most likely come in handy in the future. Thourthly, in the rare scenario where the space station's functions fail and it will be affected by a micro meteor, or large meteor, this robot can deflect its impact. How will it do all this? The Space Umbrella will be equipped with 12 cameras and sensors on the sides and a main hub in the middle. The cameras will record the space station and everything around it. The sensors will record where the sun is and automatically avoid collisions. The information from the cameras and sensors will be sent to the main hub. Here information will be stored and an AI will use the information to help it move around the space station and position itself to reflect or protect in the right way. On the astronauts command the AI will be able to move to a specific location, without the astronaut having to guide it manually, or make human errors."