SpaceX rocket carrying AI research blasts off for space station
Washington, June 29: A SpaceX Dragon spacecraft loaded with about 2,600 kgs of research and supplies, including experiments investigating cellular biology, Earth science and Artificial Intelligence (AI), lifted off on a Falcon 9 rocket on Friday from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
This is SpaceX's 15th cargo flight to the space station under NASA's Commercial Resupply Services contract, NASA said in a statement.
The spacecraft's occupant also included a robot named Cimon, short for Crew Interactive Mobile Companion.
The pilot study with Cimon is a technology demonstration project, and an observational study, that aims to obtain the first insights into the effects on crew support by AI, in terms of efficiency and acceptance during long-term missions in space.
Research materials flying inside Dragon's pressurised cargo area also included a cellular biology investigation (Micro-12) to understand how microgravity affects the growth, gene expression and ability of a model bacterium to transfer electrons through its cell membrane along the bacterial nanowires it produces.
Such bacteria could be used in microbial fuel cells to make electricity from waste organic material.
An Earth science instrument called the ECOsystem Spaceborne Thermal Radiometer Experiment on Space Station (ECOSTRESS) will provide a new space-based measurement of how plants respond to changes in water availability. This data can help society better manage agricultural water use, the US space agency added.
Dragon is scheduled to depart the station in August and return to Earth with more than 1,724 kgs of research, hardware and crew supplies, NASA said.
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Vadodara car crash: FSL report reveals accused smoked marijuana, was not drunk
Vadodara: The main accused in the March 14 car crash in Vadodara, Rakshit Chaurasia, had smoked marijuana but was not under the influence of alcohol, according to the primary report from Gandhinagar’s Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL). Chaurasia, a 20-year-old law student, was driving a speeding car that rammed into two-wheelers near Muktanand crossroads in Karelibaug, killing a woman and injuring several others.
The FSL’s findings, as cited by police officials, revealed that Chaurasia’s blood sample tested positive for marijuana. Two others who were in the car with him—Praanshu Chauhan and Suresh Bharwad—also tested positive for the same. All three have been booked under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985.
Chaurasia has also been booked under s. 185 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, which deals with driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. He is currently lodged in Vadodara Central Jail. Chauhan has also been arrested, while Bharwad remains absconding.
According to Deputy Commissioner of Police, Zone 4, Panna Momaya, the blood reports confirmed drug consumption. "They were driving the car after smoking marijuana," she said.
CCTV footage showed the car speeding before taking a sharp turn and hitting the two-wheeler. In the moments before the crash, Chaurasia was seen behaving erratically, shouting "another round, another round," followed by chanting “Om Namah Shivay” and calling out a girl’s name, “Nikita.”
Later, Chaurasia told reporters that a pothole caused the accident and claimed he was driving at 50 km/hr. He also said the airbag deployment had obstructed his view.
