Spheres robots on the Space Station

NASA astronauts Kevin Ford (background) and Tom Marshburn, setting up two Spheres robots in the Kibo laboratory on the International Space Station. The volleyball-sized satellites have their own power, propulsion and navigation systems and are used in an international competition for high-school students.

Each year a tournament is held where students earn points by writing control algorithms to operate the spheres and by choosing the best tactics to win the game. The European finalists of 2013 consisted of six alliances from Italy, Germany, Spain and Portugal.