Obama urges astronauts to test robonaut

NEW YORK. March 4. KAZINFORM US President Barack Obama called the dozen members of the Discovery shuttle and the International Space Station on Thursday and asked whether their new robot is already washing dishes; Kazinform refers to Itar-Tass.

Obama said the new robonaut, named R2, was getting a lot of attention on Earth and asked the Discovery crew whether they were assigning the robot a list of chores, but crew members said R2 was not even out of the packing yet.

"Come on, guys, unpack the guy!" the president urged in response.

Obama also praised the astronauts for their work to keep the space station running so smoothly. He also paid tribute to Discovery space shuttle, which is to retire after the flight.

"We are always inspired by the images of you guys at work as you work to put some of the final pieces in place to make the ISS fully operational," Obama said.

"You are setting such a great example with your dedication, your courage, your commitment to exploration," he said telling Discovery Commander Steve Lindsey "it must be a great honor to be the last commander of Discovery."

President Barack Obama made a long-distance call to the dozen members of the Discovery and UTC+0300