Source: AFPThis week, Russia launched an unmanned rocket along with a life-sized humanoid robot on board destined for the International Space Station.

The robot, dubbed Fedor, which is short for Final Experimental Demonstration Object Research, will spend 10 days at the International Space Station where it will assist human astronauts.

Launching the robot, which took off in a Soyuz MS-14 spacecraft at 6:38 am Moscow time (0338 GMT) from Russia's Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, is reportedly a first for Russia. The rocket and robot are expected to arrive at the International Space Station on August 24, staying through until September 7.

Standing at 5 ft 11 in and weighing roughly 353 lbs, Fedor, otherwise known as Skybot F850, is expected to improve upon its manual skills, such as opening bottles of water, but in extremely low gravity.

"That's connecting and disconnecting electric cables (and) using standard items, from a screwdriver and a spanner to a fire extinguisher," said the Russian space agency's director for prospective programmes and science, Alexander Bloshenko.

Currently, Fedor is capable of copying the movements of an operator, remotely mimicking the moves of astronauts as well as people on Earth donning an exoskeleton. The robot can also work in autonomous mode. At the International Space Station, Fedor will be supervised by Russian cosmonaut Alexander Skvortsov who will be wearing an exoskeleton and augmented reality glasses, helping Fedor to perform tasks.

Eventually, robots like Fedor will improve their capabilities and be used to conduct dangerous missions such as future space walks. Likewise, Fedor and robots like Fedor might eventually perform dangerous tasks on Earth as well including working in high radiation environments, rescue missions or de-mining applications.

Although normally manned, the Soyuz ship was not for this particular mission in an effort to test a new emergency rescue system. In lieu of cosmonauts, Fedor is traveling to the International Space Station strapped into the rocket pilot’s seat and clasping a Russian flag in its hands.

Using its own Instagram and Twitter accounts, Fedor has already reported that the trip is going as planned so far.

To see Fedor in action, watch the accompanying video that appears courtesy of Roscosmos.