Still hard to digest what we saw « Chernobyl », the heartbreaking HBO series that quickly became a TV phenomenon and became one of the 100 highest rated series in history by IMDb users. It is therefore normal that after such an impact, certain more specific subjects linked to the history of this accident were studied.
One of them is « Joker », a German robot that was used by police for tactical tasks, such as defusing bombs, and that was sent to the Chernobyl nuclear power plant to help clean up radioactive material. Something that in the end didn’t work out the way everyone expected.
Robots were the first choice
In episode four of “Chernobyl” we saw cleanup efforts begin in the area after the explosion of reactor number four. The idea was to use robots for these tasks and avoid, as far as possible, human intervention. However, hopes soon faded.
After the reactor exploded, large amounts of debris, including pieces of radioactive graphite, filled the roofs of the facility. Because graphite was originally used to moderate the reaction, Soviet officials believed that throw graphite into the exposed reactor core It could be a quick fix to contain it.
Making this idea a reality was not easy, because who could clean up the radioactive graphite and throw it into the reactor? Workers with special equipment, called « biorobots », could only expose themselves for a maximum of 90 seconds to this material, and even then it was extremely dangerous. The solution? Use Soviet space technology.
This is how they decided to send “Lunokhod” (Lunojod program), lunar rovers that were part of the Soviet space program. West Germany discovered it and offered to lend them « Joker », their famous police robot that can be controlled remotely and they thought it would be ideal for cleaning tasks.
The bad news is that it didn’t go as planned, as « Joker » was dispatched to clean up the most radioactive part of the roof, where he soon died. At first it was thought to be stuck in the rubble and they sent men to take it apart, but when they got to the place they found it was fried.
The alleged lie as a desperate measure
It is not clear exactly how the Germans offered to lend their expensive robot, but according to Telecon’s documentary « On the Roof of Chernobyl », the reasons the Russians decided to lie to the Germans because they were desperate and they wanted to try everything.
The Germans reportedly sent « Joker » believing it would withstand the radiation levels, as the Soviets told them the roof was contaminated with 2000 roentgens, when in fact, the ceiling radiated more than 12,000 roentgens. This caused the immediate death of the robot.
Craig Mazin, co-creator of the series, explained it like this:
“The Soviets – and this is mind-boggling to me – refused to accept the gravity of the situation. Even then, months after the world knew what was going on at Chernobyl and how dire the situation was, even then They refused to tell the West Germans how much radiation was in that roof. It was 600% or 700% more than he could take. And what amazes me is that the Soviet power system thought it was good. Why not « Come on, that’s the same kind of attitude that caused the Chernobyl thing in the first place. «
What happened to « Joker »?
After « Joker » died, the Lunokhod was used to clean the lower roof structure of radioactive debris and build the sarcophagus. The radiation on the lower roofs was not that high, so the soviet lunar rover was able to accomplish its task. However, up to the highest ceiling, where « Joker » was supposed to clean up, they ended up sending people out at 90-second intervals.
The rovers reportedly failed in the end despite being overhauled to withstand higher radiation levels. The Soviets knew what the actual radiation levels were and tried to prepare the rovers as best they could. However, the « biorobots » are those who have finished cleaning the roofs.
This image, the origin of which is unknown, supposedly corresponds to the Joker abandoned in a dump in the exclusion zone. The robot would remain extremely radioactive to this day. Apparently what’s in the background on the left is a Lunokhod.
Source : Engadget
