It won't panic in an emergency, its hands don't shake after too little sleep, it won't miss a family after months away from base - in fact it doesn't even need to breathe.

Nasa's Robonaut 2 has the makings of the perfect space surgeon.

The humanoid has already been posted to the International Space Station, the only problem is its motor skills are somewhat rudimentary at the moment.

In truth, it can't even walk in zero gravity yet, and perhaps its most impressive physical feat to date has been to catch a floating roll of duct-tape.

But Nasa has high hopes for the new recruit, and techniques being developed by a team on the ground could mean the machine can eventually perform life-saving operations on its team-mates.

(BBC)