If we're ever going to colonise Mars, we'll need to send machines in first to do the dangerous legwork. Step up, Valkyrie. Nasa’s Valkyrie humanoid, officially known as R5, was designed and built by the Johnson Space Center (JSC) Engineering Directorate to compete in the 2013 Darpa Robotics Challenge (DRC) Trials. Valkyrie was initially designed to work in disaster zones but in November 2014, two versions of the robot were given to US research labs so it could be developed further. In 2011, the first humanoid robot in space, the legless Robonaut 2.0, was switched on after arriving at the International Space Station. Valkyrie is designed to work in environments too hazardous for astronauts, and is the third and newest iteration of Nasa's robonauts. Whereas the first two, R1 and R2, are used to perform repetitive tasks on the ISS, Valkyrie - with its three fingers and thumb - is being developed to mine resources, build habitats autonomously on the surface of Mars, complete disaster-relief manoeuvres and work alongside astronauts.

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• Country: USA 
• Company: NASA