The International Space Station (ISS) is welcoming a new member to their crew who is made up of metal and circuitry. He has been training with an astronaut named Alexander Gerst and has been working on small puzzles and the Rubik’s Cube. His name is CIMON which is short for “Crew Interactive Mobile Companion” and he floats in a microgravity environment in the ISS.

This AI-based crew member was created to support astronauts and supply them with diagnostic data and processing problems that can occur on a space mission. It is also programmed like a human brain, and has been stated to be an efficient colleague for astronauts to interact with.

After 50 technicians worked on his 11 lb spherical body, and after he becomes familiar with Gerst and the rest of the crew and successfully reaches his full potential for AI-intelligence, CIMON will be the first AI-based mission for the ISS.

CIMON has recently stated, “I’m ready to be an astronaut!”