Robot squeezes suspected nuclear fuel debris in Fukushima reactor www.theverge.com

A robot outfitted with remotely controlled pinchers poked at debris that’s suspected to contain molten nuclear fuel at the bottom of one of Fukushima’s nuclear reactors, World Nuclear News reports.
The dextrous robot was dangled into the Unit 2 reactor on February 13th, according to a news release from the plant’s operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO).
TEPCO suspects that radioactive fuel may have melted through the bottom of the reactor vessel to fall into the containment structure surrounding it.
A robot that scooted into the reactor on tank-like treads got stuck in February 2017, so the company decided to try again this week.
Those results seem like a decent sign if that’s how TEPCO wants to shift and remove most of the debris.