Meet the 20-something Brooklyn whiz kids building robots NASA will send to space next year

Icarus Robotics, a Brooklyn start-up founded by Jamie Palmer, 26, and Ethan Barajas, 23, is building a robot called JOY for NASA. NASA is due to receive it in early 2027, before it travels to the International Space Station to take on routine maintenance and checks, freeing astronauts to spend more time on research.

The 11-person company began in 2024 at the Brooklyn Navy Yard’s Newlab innovation centre. JOY is designed for more dexterous, human-like tasks and to learn over time; testing has included a specially built low-friction table and brief weightless periods aboard a plane. NASA estimated in 2021 that supporting each astronaut on the ISS costs $133,000 per hour, while research there has contributed to advances including new formulations of the cancer drug Keytruda.