NASA's Valkyrie robots set the table for human life on Mars

(AP) — Four sister robots built by NASA could be pioneers in the colonization of Mars, part of an advance construction team that sets up a habitat for more fragile human explorers.

Engineering students let the electricity-powered robot down from a harness and tried to let it walk, only to watch as Val's legs awkwardly lurched and locked into a ballet pose.

Northeastern and UMass-Lowell are partnering on a two-year project to improve the robot's software and test its ability to manipulate tools, climb a ladder and perform high-level tasks.

NASA originally designed Valkyrie several years ago to compete in the disaster-relief robotics contest hosted by the U.S. military's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, but now it's looking for outside expertise to craft her into a kind of space mechanic.

There's a huge step between NASA's robotic rover Curiosity, which landed on Mars in 2012, and the capabilities of a robot such as Valkyrie, said Robert Platt, an assistant professor at Northeastern University who is part of the research team.