A robot shadow hand aims to replicate the delicacy and precision of human touch, allowing remote machine operators to feel as though they're really performing a task in space.

"The aim is that remote operators will feel as though they are right there with whatever they are controlling, such as planetary rovers," the European Space Agency said in a statement.

The robotic hand is so human-like that it is able to easily grip objects, such as an apple, and mimic the motion of the human operator.

Experiments with the shadow hand are being carried out at the Telerobotics and Haptics Laboratory in the Netherlands. It was not immediately known when the "helping hand" would be sent to space.