SpaceX spacecraft carrying AI robot Cimon reaches space station
Washington, July 2: A SpaceX Dragon spacecraft loaded with about 2,600 kg of research materials and supplies, including an Artificial Intelligence (AI) robot named Cimon, reached the International Space Station on Monday, NASA said.
The spacecraft lifted off on a Falcon 9 rocket on June 29 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
"Capture confirmed! Dragon now attached to the Space Station robotic arm," SpaceX tweeted on Monday.
NASA astronauts Ricky Arnold and Drew Feustel captured the Dragon spacecraft using the space station's Canadarm2 robotic arm, the US space agency wrote in a blog post.
Among the research arriving on Dragon is 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 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.
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'Betrayal of people's mandate': Tejashwi on Nitish's Rajya Sabha entry
Patna (PTI): RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav on Thursday said Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's decision to enter the Rajya Sabha was a "betrayal" of the people's mandate.
Yadav, the leader of the opposition in the state assembly, alleged the BJP has always been opposed to Dalits and OBCs, and with Kumar leaving the CM's post, it will seek to implement its agenda in the socialist stronghold.
"The BJP has done a Maharashtra in Bihar," he said.
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"We have been saying from the very beginning that the BJP will not let Nitish Kumar remain the chief minister after the elections. This is exactly what has happened. This development is against the mandate of the people and amounts to a betrayal of it," he said.
Alleging that the BJP had "hijacked" Kumar, Yadav said that was the reason the veteran leader was now moving to the Rajya Sabha.
"BJP is against OBCs and Dalits. They never want a leader from these communities to occupy the top post. They want a chief minister who will function like a rubber stamp for the top BJP leadership," he alleged.
"I had said -- 'Nitish ji ko ghoda toh chadhaya hai dulha banake, lekin phera kisi aur ke saath dila raha hai' (They made Nitish Kumar mount the horse like a groom, but are getting someone else to take the wedding vows)," he added.
Kumar, the state's longest-serving chief minister, filed nomination papers for the Rajya Sabha polls, paving the way for the first BJP-led government in the state.
