The International Space Station received some new passengers today: 20 “mousestronauts” and a disembodied round, plastic robot head equipped with artificial intelligence.
The mice will pick up where NASA’s identical twin brother astronauts left of a few years ago. NASA was evaluating the effect of long terms spent in space on the human body, and so one twin stayed on the ground while another spent almost a year on board the ISS. In this case, the mice are divided into two genetically identical groups. Some from each group will stay on Earth while others were welcomed aboard earlier today. Scientists will study the genetic coding and health of both groups after the experiment wraps up. They will compare the results found with the mice to the results found after monitoring the human astronaut brothers.
Meanwhile, the German robot Cimon (pronounced like Simon) is getting lots of attention. That’s not because he’s running amok on the space station. His legless state prevents that. Cimon is on board to be an extra brain for the team—and he is almost entirely that: all brain. The artificial intelligence computerized companion was built by IBM. Cimon will float at the side of German astronaut Alexander Gerst and offer input whenever Gerst requests it. In a way, it will be as if Gerst has his own twin aboard. Cimon has Gerst’s face and voice imprinted in its memory.
A small screen on the sphere serves as Cimon’s face. Currently, Cimon will smile when a conversation is upbeat and frown when it is sad. Next year, Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano will be Cimon’s orbital master. Cimon will be reprogrammed for that assignment after AI researchers follow the robot’s usefulness on this mission and delve more into giving it moods. Those researchers expect Cimon to grow ever more knowledgeable and “smarter” with exposure to the processes and procedures aboard the ISS.
(AP Photo via German Aerospace Center: Cimon, Crew Interactive MObile companioN, undergoes a communications test before being launched by SpaceX for delivery to the International Space Station. Liftoff occurred before dawn this morning.)
