The Crew Interactive Mobile Companion (CIMON) was launched early this Friday to become the first personal, artificial intelligence powered companion in space!
At a weight of 5900 pounds, CIMON is a verbally communicative device, and will also communicate step-by-step instructions to astronauts during three planned science experiments. It will return to Earth on December 13.
As is common knowledge about the group think effect, in which humans that spend long periods of time in isolation are driven to make irrational decisions, it is believed that robots like CIMON can help counteract such a situation and prove useful in the working of the space station. CIMON can help mitigate the disorientation astronauts may feel in space.
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