High integrated modular joint for Chinese Space Station Experiment Module Manipulator

Around 2020, China is going to build its own space station and to carry out space science research of larger scale. Chinese Space Station (CSS) will operate in orbit for about ten years. This period will provide much more opportunities to scientists in China after the international space station. The space manipulators as cost-effective, energy-efficient tools supporting humans on extended space missions have played an important role in space exploration, such as aided cabin docking, cargo handling, supporting EVA and carrying out scientific experiments. So an Experiment Module Manipulator (EMM) was proposed for CSS. The principle prototype of the modular joint has been developed as the crucial component of the EMM and passed through the preliminary thermal vacuum test and dynamics environment tests.