Nexus S Android phones are being used to upgrade and control SPHERES (Synchronized Position Hold, Engage, Reorient, Experimental Satellites) on the International Space Station.
SF fans know that in 1999, MIT engineering Professor David Miller showed the movie Star Wars on the first day of class. During the scene where Luke Skywalker practices his light saber against a seeker remote, Miller stood up and said "I want you to build me some of those."
Take a look at this recent video showing how Android is being used to direct SPHERES.
(Nexus S Directs SPHERES On ISS video)
Research engineer DW Wheeler says that NASA went with the Nexus S because “the phone is very easy to take apart. Android is easy to program, we’re familiar with it, and we needed to make a lot of customizations that are easier to make with Android”.
Taikonaut Tai Chi Foot Loops
'Jimmy Cardigan and Harlowe, staring through the darkside port, had their feet in the foot-loops...' - Murray Leinster, 1931.
Space Billboards Would Ruin Our View Of The Cosmos
'But the rising sign, as it had been designed to do, held his eyes. A vast circle of scarlet stars came up into the greenish desert dusk.' - Jack Williamson, 1939.
Orion's 'Skip-to-M'Lou' Entry
'A lightning pilot possibly could land that tin toy without power and still walk away from it provided he had the skill to play Skip-to-M’Lou in and out of the atmosphere...' - Robert Heinlein, 1958.
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Orion's 'Skip-to-M'Lou' Entry
'A lightning pilot possibly could land that tin toy without power and still walk away from it provided he had the skill to play Skip-to-M’Lou in and out of the atmosphere...'
Tentacle Robot Gripper Recalls War Of The Worlds
'It presented a sort of metallic spider with five jointed, agile legs, and with an extraordinary number of jointed levers, bars, and reaching and clutching tentacles.'