A robot collects a sample of radioactive fuel from the Fukushima nuclear reactor

Using a remote-controlled robot, a fragment of radioactive fuel from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant meltdown in Japan has been recovered from the site.

For the first time, investigators clipped and collected a small bit of radioactive material from one of the plant’s three damaged reactors using the robot’s arm, which resembled a fishing rod. Scientists anticipate the sample will provide information that will assist them decide how to decommission the plant if it turns out to be appropriate for testing.

According to Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings (Tepco), the plant’s manager, the sample was taken from the top of a pile of molten debris that is located at the base of the main containment tank for the Unit 2 reactor.

Workers wearing full hazardous gear removed the “telesco” robot from the containment vessel on Saturday, returning it to its enclosed container for safe storage with its frontal tongs still holding the sample. However, unless the sample’s radioactivity is confirmed to be below a predetermined threshold and it is securely secured, the mission is not finished.Tepco officials have stated that they anticipate the sample to be sufficiently tiny, but if the radiation surpasses the safety limit, the robot will have to go back and find another piece.

Originally scheduled to last two weeks, the mission began in September but had to be halted twice.

Tepco officials have stated that they anticipate the sample to be sufficiently tiny, but if the radiation surpasses the safety limit, the robot will have to go back and find another piece. Originally scheduled to last two weeks, the mission began in September but had to be halted twice.

Work was delayed for over three weeks due to a procedural error. The two cameras aboard the robot, which were intended to provide its operators in the remote control center with views of the target locations, then malfunctioned. Because of this, the robot had to be removed completely in order to be replaced before the mission could start on Monday.

Three of Fukushima Daiichi’s reactors melted down as a result of the plant’s cooling systems failing during the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. They still contain an estimated 880 tons of fuel, and Tepco has performed a number of robotic operations. A component weighing around 3 grams was successfully cut by the robot on Wednesday from the area beneath the Unit 2 reactor core, from which a significant amount of molten fuel fell during the meltdown 13 years ago, according to Tepco.

Only the small sample, according to Akira Ono, the plant’s chief, can offer vital information for developing a decommissioning plan, creating the required robots and technology, and determining exactly how the catastrophe occurred in the past. Experts argue the 30- to 40-year cleaning timeline proposed by Tepco and the Japanese government is optimistic. There is currently no established plan for the complete removal of the fuel debris or its ultimate disposal.