Today's Article

Shane Farrior, CTO, Virtual Incision: So MIRA is a small surgical robot. 

CNN Correspondent: MIRA, made by a company called 3Virtual 4Incision, arrived at the International Space Station in February, and on Saturday it did something that's never been done before. 

Shane Farrior: Saturday was the first time that a surgical robot in space was 5controlled by 6surgeons on Earth to perform 7simulated 8surgical activities. 

CNN Correspondent: Virtual Incision 9provided CNN with 10exclusive video as six surgeons at the company's 11headquarters in Lincoln, Nebraska, took turns operating the robot after it was powered up by NASA 12astronauts 13roughly 250 miles above. 

Dr. Michael Jobst, Surgeon: The adrenaline was pumping and I could feel my heart pounding. It was really 14exhilarating. But at the same time, once I saw that robotic device doing the things that I'm used to it doing, settled down. 

CNN Correspondent: Dr. Michael Jobst says he's already performed 15 surgeries with MIRA during 15clinical trials on human patients here on Earth, but he's never had to 16contend with zero 17gravity or a time delay of about half a second. 

Dr. Michael Jobst: A split second or a half a second is going to be significant. So this was a big challenge. 

Shane Farrior: You can see a left hand with a 18grasper and a right hand with a pair of scissors. And we use rubber bands here to simulate surgical 19tissue. 

Dr. Michael Jobst: So you could think of those rubber bands as perhaps 20blood vessels or 21tendons or other connective tissue that has 22elasticity. So we're able to grab hold of the rubber bands and then take the scissors and just basically to cut them.