福岛核电站利用机器人寻找燃料碎片
A robot has been sent inside one of the reactors at the Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan.
一个机器人已经被送入日本福岛核电站的一座反应堆中。
Japanese officials are hoping the robot will be able to locate the melted nuclear fuel debris left-over from the 2011 meltdown.
Teruaki Kobayashi is with the Tokyo Electric Power Company, or TEPCO.
"We have found out that there is a secure opening to go further into the basement, and confirmed that there is nothing obstructing the way. The mission proved that in future inspections, we won't be faced with factors that block our way to go further."
TEPCO officials say the initial testing suggests the radiation levels inside the plant are significantly lower than first expected.
The robot itself only completed around two-thirds of its survey before becoming stuck in the debris.
TEPCO says the machine did manage to collect enough data before becoming immobilized.
The Fukushima nuclear power plant melted down after water from the 2011 tsunami innondated the facility, creating the worst nuclear power disaster since the Chernobyl disaster in the 1980's.