MOSCOW. March 24 (Interfax) - The Russian crew of the International Space Station (ISS) has conducted a training session in controlling the European Robotic Arm (ERA), Russia's Roscosmos state-owned space corporation said.
"Training in controlling the European ERA remote manipulator by the cosmonauts [was conducted]," the state corporation said in a report about the cosmonauts' work at the ISS on March 23.
Anna Kikina was previously the operator of the ERA in the Russian segment of the ISS, and Andrei Fedyayev took over her duties now.
The ERA was supposed to be used in spacewalks for the first time in 2022, but this was not done due to emergencies.
The ERA built by the Germany company Fokker Space is a standard piece of Nauka electromechanical maintenance equipment. It will serve as the main robotic arm of the station's Russian segment and will be used to install and uninstall payloads on the station surface, to monitor the condition of the station's exterior, and to provide remotely controlled movement of cosmonauts at a portable workplace during spacewalks.