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By BILL BARROW, Associated Press PLAINS, Ga. (AP) — Newly married and sworn as a Naval officer, Jimmy Carter left his tiny hometown in 1946 hoping to climb the ranks and see the world. Less than a decade later, the death of his father and namesake, a merchant farmer and local politician who went by “Mr. Earl,” prompted the submariner and his wife, Rosalynn, to return to the rural life of Plains, Georgia, they thought they’d escaped. The lieutenant never would be an admiral. Instead, he became commander in chief. Years after his presidency ended in humbling defeat, he would add a Nobel Peace Prize, awarded not for his White House accomplishments but “for his decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development.” The life of James Earl Carter Jr., the 39th and longest-lived U.S. president, ended Sunday at the age of 100 where it began: Plains, the town of 600 that fueled his political rise, welcomed him after his fall and sustained him during 40 years of service that redefined what it means to be a former president. With the stubborn confidence of an engineer and an optimism rooted in his Baptist faith, Carter described his motivations in politics and beyond in the same way: an almost missionary zeal to solve problems and improve lives. Carter was raised amid racism, abject poverty and hard rural living — realities that shaped both his deliberate politics and emphasis on human rights. “He always felt a responsibility to help people,” said Jill Stuckey, a longtime friend of Carter’s in Plains. “And when he couldn’t make change wherever he was, he decided he had to go higher.” Carter’s path, a mix of happenstance and calculation , pitted moral imperatives against political pragmatism; and it defied typical labels of American politics, especially caricatures of one-term presidents as failures. “We shouldn’t judge presidents by how popular they are in their day. That’s a very narrow way of assessing them,” Carter biographer Jonathan Alter told the Associated Press. “We should judge them by how they changed the country and the world for the better. On that score, Jimmy Carter is not in the first rank of American presidents, but he stands up quite well.” Later in life, Carter conceded that many Americans, even those too young to remember his tenure, judged him ineffective for failing to contain inflation or interest rates, end the energy crisis or quickly bring home American hostages in Iran. He gained admirers instead for his work at The Carter Center — advocating globally for public health, human rights and democracy since 1982 — and the decades he and Rosalynn wore hardhats and swung hammers with Habitat for Humanity. Yet the common view that he was better after the Oval Office than in it annoyed Carter, and his allies relished him living long enough to see historians reassess his presidency. “He doesn’t quite fit in today’s terms” of a left-right, red-blue scoreboard, said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who visited the former president multiple times during his own White House bid. At various points in his political career, Carter labeled himself “progressive” or “conservative” — sometimes both at once. His most ambitious health care bill failed — perhaps one of his biggest legislative disappointments — because it didn’t go far enough to suit liberals. Republicans, especially after his 1980 defeat, cast him as a left-wing cartoon. It would be easiest to classify Carter as a centrist, Buttigieg said, “but there’s also something radical about the depth of his commitment to looking after those who are left out of society and out of the economy.” Indeed, Carter’s legacy is stitched with complexities, contradictions and evolutions — personal and political. The self-styled peacemaker was a war-trained Naval Academy graduate who promised Democratic challenger Ted Kennedy that he’d “kick his ass.” But he campaigned with a call to treat everyone with “respect and compassion and with love.” Carter vowed to restore America’s virtue after the shame of Vietnam and Watergate, and his technocratic, good-government approach didn’t suit Republicans who tagged government itself as the problem. It also sometimes put Carter at odds with fellow Democrats. The result still was a notable legislative record, with wins on the environment, education, and mental health care. He dramatically expanded federally protected lands, began deregulating air travel, railroads and trucking, and he put human rights at the center of U.S. foreign policy. As a fiscal hawk, Carter added a relative pittance to the national debt, unlike successors from both parties. Carter nonetheless struggled to make his achievements resonate with the electorate he charmed in 1976. Quoting Bob Dylan and grinning enthusiastically, he had promised voters he would “never tell a lie.” Once in Washington, though, he led like a joyless engineer, insisting his ideas would become reality and he’d be rewarded politically if only he could convince enough people with facts and logic. This served him well at Camp David, where he brokered peace between Israel’s Menachem Begin and Epypt’s Anwar Sadat, an experience that later sparked the idea of The Carter Center in Atlanta. Carter’s tenacity helped the center grow to a global force that monitored elections across five continents, enabled his freelance diplomacy and sent public health experts across the developing world. The center’s wins were personal for Carter, who hoped to outlive the last Guinea worm parasite, and nearly did. As president, though, the approach fell short when he urged consumers beleaguered by energy costs to turn down their thermostats. Or when he tried to be the nation’s cheerleader, beseeching Americans to overcome a collective “crisis of confidence.” Republican Ronald Reagan exploited Carter’s lecturing tone with a belittling quip in their lone 1980 debate. “There you go again,” the former Hollywood actor said in response to a wonky answer from the sitting president. “The Great Communicator” outpaced Carter in all but six states. Carter later suggested he “tried to do too much, too soon” and mused that he was incompatible with Washington culture: media figures, lobbyists and Georgetown social elites who looked down on the Georgians and their inner circle as “country come to town.” Carter carefully navigated divides on race and class on his way to the Oval Office. Born Oct. 1, 1924 , Carter was raised in the mostly Black community of Archery, just outside Plains, by a progressive mother and white supremacist father. Their home had no running water or electricity but the future president still grew up with the relative advantages of a locally prominent, land-owning family in a system of Jim Crow segregation. He wrote of President Franklin Roosevelt’s towering presence and his family’s Democratic Party roots, but his father soured on FDR, and Jimmy Carter never campaigned or governed as a New Deal liberal. He offered himself as a small-town peanut farmer with an understated style, carrying his own luggage, bunking with supporters during his first presidential campaign and always using his nickname. And he began his political career in a whites-only Democratic Party. As private citizens, he and Rosalynn supported integration as early as the 1950s and believed it inevitable. Carter refused to join the White Citizens Council in Plains and spoke out in his Baptist church against denying Black people access to worship services. “This is not my house; this is not your house,” he said in a churchwide meeting, reminding fellow parishioners their sanctuary belonged to God. Yet as the appointed chairman of Sumter County schools he never pushed to desegregate, thinking it impractical after the Supreme Court’s 1954 Brown v. Board decision. And while presidential candidate Carter would hail the 1965 Voting Rights Act, signed by fellow Democrat Lyndon Johnson when Carter was a state senator, there is no record of Carter publicly supporting it at the time. Carter overcame a ballot-stuffing opponent to win his legislative seat, then lost the 1966 governor’s race to an arch-segregationist. He won four years later by avoiding explicit mentions of race and campaigning to the right of his rival, who he mocked as “Cufflinks Carl” — the insult of an ascendant politician who never saw himself as part the establishment. Carter’s rural and small-town coalition in 1970 would match any victorious Republican electoral map in 2024. Once elected, though, Carter shocked his white conservative supporters — and landed on the cover of Time magazine — by declaring that “the time for racial discrimination is over.” Before making the jump to Washington, Carter befriended the family of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., whom he’d never sought out as he eyed the governor’s office. Carter lamented his foot-dragging on school integration as a “mistake.” But he also met, conspicuously, with Alabama’s segregationist Gov. George Wallace to accept his primary rival’s endorsement ahead of the 1976 Democratic convention. “He very shrewdly took advantage of his own Southerness,” said Amber Roessner, a University of Tennessee professor and expert on Carter’s campaigns. A coalition of Black voters and white moderate Democrats ultimately made Carter the last Democratic presidential nominee to sweep the Deep South. Then, just as he did in Georgia, he used his power in office to appoint more non-whites than all his predecessors had, combined. He once acknowledged “the secret shame” of white Americans who didn’t fight segregation. But he also told Alter that doing more would have sacrificed his political viability – and thus everything he accomplished in office and after. King’s daughter, Bernice King, described Carter as wisely “strategic” in winning higher offices to enact change. “He was a leader of conscience,” she said in an interview. Rosalynn Carter, who died on Nov. 19 at the age of 96, was identified by both husband and wife as the “more political” of the pair; she sat in on Cabinet meetings and urged him to postpone certain priorities, like pressing the Senate to relinquish control of the Panama Canal. “Let that go until the second term,” she would sometimes say. The president, recalled her former aide Kathy Cade, retorted that he was “going to do what’s right” even if “it might cut short the time I have.” Rosalynn held firm, Cade said: “She’d remind him you have to win to govern.” Carter also was the first president to appoint multiple women as Cabinet officers. Yet by his own telling, his career sprouted from chauvinism in the Carters’ early marriage: He did not consult Rosalynn when deciding to move back to Plains in 1953 or before launching his state Senate bid a decade later. Many years later, he called it “inconceivable” that he didn’t confer with the woman he described as his “full partner,” at home, in government and at The Carter Center. “We developed a partnership when we were working in the farm supply business, and it continued when Jimmy got involved in politics,” Rosalynn Carter told AP in 2021. So deep was their trust that when Carter remained tethered to the White House in 1980 as 52 Americans were held hostage in Tehran, it was Rosalynn who campaigned on her husband’s behalf. “I just loved it,” she said, despite the bitterness of defeat. Fair or not, the label of a disastrous presidency had leading Democrats keep their distance, at least publicly, for many years, but Carter managed to remain relevant, writing books and weighing in on societal challenges. He lamented widening wealth gaps and the influence of money in politics. He voted for democratic socialist Bernie Sanders over Hillary Clinton in 2016, and later declared that America had devolved from fully functioning democracy to “oligarchy.” Yet looking ahead to 2020, with Sanders running again, Carter warned Democrats not to “move to a very liberal program,” lest they help re-elect President Donald Trump. Carter scolded the Republican for his serial lies and threats to democracy, and chided the U.S. establishment for misunderstanding Trump’s populist appeal. He delighted in yearly convocations with Emory University freshmen, often asking them to guess how much he’d raised in his two general election campaigns. “Zero,” he’d gesture with a smile, explaining the public financing system candidates now avoid so they can raise billions. Carter still remained quite practical in partnering with wealthy corporations and foundations to advance Carter Center programs. Carter recognized that economic woes and the Iran crisis doomed his presidency, but offered no apologies for appointing Paul Volcker as the Federal Reserve chairman whose interest rate hikes would not curb inflation until Reagan’s presidency. He was proud of getting all the hostages home without starting a shooting war, even though Tehran would not free them until Reagan’s Inauguration Day. “Carter didn’t look at it” as a failure, Alter emphasized. “He said, ‘They came home safely.’ And that’s what he wanted.” Well into their 90s, the Carters greeted visitors at Plains’ Maranatha Baptist Church, where he taught Sunday School and where he will have his last funeral before being buried on family property alongside Rosalynn . Carter, who made the congregation’s collection plates in his woodworking shop, still garnered headlines there, calling for women’s rights within religious institutions, many of which, he said, “subjugate” women in church and society. Carter was not one to dwell on regrets. “I am at peace with the accomplishments, regret the unrealized goals and utilize my former political position to enhance everything we do,” he wrote around his 90th birthday. The politician who had supposedly hated Washington politics also enjoyed hosting Democratic presidential contenders as public pilgrimages to Plains became advantageous again. Carter sat with Buttigieg for the final time March 1, 2020, hours before the Indiana mayor ended his campaign and endorsed eventual winner Joe Biden. “He asked me how I thought the campaign was going,” Buttigieg said, recalling that Carter flashed his signature grin and nodded along as the young candidate, born a year after Carter left office, “put the best face” on the walloping he endured the day before in South Carolina. Never breaking his smile, the 95-year-old host fired back, “I think you ought to drop out.” “So matter of fact,” Buttigieg said with a laugh. “It was somehow encouraging.” Carter had lived enough, won plenty and lost enough to take the long view. “He talked a lot about coming from nowhere,” Buttigieg said, not just to attain the presidency but to leverage “all of the instruments you have in life” and “make the world more peaceful.” In his farewell address as president, Carter said as much to the country that had embraced and rejected him. “The struggle for human rights overrides all differences of color, nation or language,” he declared. “Those who hunger for freedom, who thirst for human dignity and who suffer for the sake of justice — they are the patriots of this cause.” Carter pledged to remain engaged with and for them as he returned “home to the South where I was born and raised,” home to Plains, where that young lieutenant had indeed become “a fellow citizen of the world.” —- Bill Barrow, based in Atlanta, has covered national politics including multiple presidential campaigns for the AP since 2012.Andy Cohen Spills Anderson Cooper’s Most Annoying NYE Antic41 jili 。

Trae Young collected 34 points and 10 assists and the visiting Atlanta Hawks never trailed en route to a 136-107 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Sunday night. Reserve De'Andre Hunter added 22 points for the Hawks, who have won four games in a row. Jalen Johnson chipped in 15 points, six steals and one block. Onyeka Okongwu returned after missing five games due to a knee injury and scored 15 points off the bench, Zaccharie Risacher contributed 14 points and Clint Capela had 11 points and 13 rebounds. Scottie Barnes had 19 points, eight rebounds and three steals for the Raptors, who have lost 10 straight games. RJ Barrett added 17 points, and Jakob Poeltl (groin injury) was back in the lineup after missing four games and had 13 points. Bruce Brown made his season debut and scored 12 points off the bench for Toronto, which committed 31 turnovers. Atlanta led 35-25 after one quarter, taking advantage of 10 Toronto giveaways. Toronto started the second quarter with a 6-2 run, but Young's 3-pointer bumped Atlanta's lead to 14 points, 47-33, with 8:36 to play in the frame. The Raptors then used an 11-2 surge to cut the margin to five with five minutes remaining. However, the Hawks stayed in control before settling for a 64-58 lead at the break after the Raptors' Chris Boucher canned a 31-foot 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer. Atlanta shot 43.8 percent from the field in the first half and had nine turnovers. Meanwhile, Toronto shot 57.9 percent overall during the first two quarters while committing 17 turnovers. Atlanta was up 76-64 with 9:21 left in the third quarter after Risacher's dunk following Young's steal. A 7-0 rally extended Atlanta's lead to 17 with 5:41 remaining in the frame, and Hunter's 3-pointer stretched the gap to 21 points, 99-78, with 2:53 to go. Atlanta had a 104-82 cushion after three quarters and saw its advantage reach as many as 31 in the fourth. This article first appeared on Field Level Media and was syndicated with permission.Braden Smith goes off as No. 21 Purdue tops Toledo

LOS ANGELES — Until he sustained a season-ending knee injury last week in the Western Conference final, Galaxy playmaker Riqui Puig was having a tremendous season. So I heard. I watched Puig play only twice this year, once in the Galaxy's season-opening 1-1 draw with Inter Miami and a second time in his team's Fourth of July defeat to LAFC at the Rose Bowl. Outside of short highlight clips on social media, I never saw the former Barcelona prospect, not even when he assisted on the goal that sent the Galaxy to the MLS Cup final. That wasn't a reflection of my interest. Some of my friends will make fun of me for publicly admitting this, but I like Major League Soccer. I covered the league in my first job out of college and have casually kept up with it since. I take my children to a couple of games a year. My 11-year-old son owns Galaxy and LAFC hats but no Dodgers or Lakers merchandise. When flipping through channels in the past, if presented with the choice of, say, college football or MLS, I usually watched MLS. But not this year. While the MLS Cup final between the Galaxy and New York Red Bulls will be shown on Fox and Fox Deportes, the majority of games are now exclusively behind a paywall, courtesy of the league's broadcasting deal with Apple. MLS Season Pass subscriptions were reasonably priced — $79 for the entire season for Apple TV+ subscribers, $99 for non-subscribers — but I was already paying for DirecTV Stream, Netflix, Amazon Prime, PlayStation Plus and who knows what else. MLS became a casualty in my household, as well as in many others, and the possibility of being out of sight and out of mind should be a concern for a league that is looking to expand its audience. Which isn't to say the league made a mistake. This was a gamble MLS had to take. Now in the second year of a 10-year, $2.5 billion deal with Apple, MLS did what Major League Baseball is talking about doing, which is to centralize its broadcasting rights and sell them to a digital platform. Regional sports networks have been decimated by cord cutting, making traditional economic models unsustainable. The move to Apple not only increased the league's broadcast revenues — previous deals with ESPN, Fox and Univision were worth a combined $90 million annually, according to multiple reports — but also introduced a measure of uniformity in the league. The quality of the broadcasts are better than they were under regional sports networks. Viewers know where to watch games and when, as every one of them is on Season Pass and most of them are scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m. local time either on Wednesday or Saturday. "That's been fueling our growth and driving our fan engagement," MLS Commissioner Don Garber said Friday at his annual state of the league address. Apple and MLS declined to reveal the number of League Pass subscribers, but the league provided polling figures that indicated 94% of viewers offered positive or neutral reviews of League Pass. The average viewing time for a game is about 65 minutes for a 90-minute game, according to Garber. In other words, the League Pass is well-liked — by the people who have it. The challenge now is to increase that audience. The launch of League Pass last year coincided with the arrival of Lionel Messi, which presumably resulted in a wave of subscriptions. But the league can't count on the appearance of the next Messi; there is only one of him. MLS pointed to how its fans watch sports on streaming devices or recorded television than any other U.S. sports league, as well as how 71% of its fans are under the age of 45. The league also pointed to how it effectively drew more viewers to the Apple broadcast of Inter Miami's postseason opener with a livestream of a "Messi Cam' on TikTok, indicating further collaborations with wide-reaching entities could be in its future. Garber mentioned how Season Pass is available in other countries. The commissioner also made note of how Apple places games every week in front of its paywall. "What we have, really, is a communication problem," Garber said. "This is new, and we've got to work with Apple, we've got to work with our clubs and we've got to work with our partners to get more exposure to what we think is a great product." The greatest benefit to the league could be Apple's vested interest in improving the on-field product. MLS insiders said Apple has not only encouraged teams to sign more high-profile players but also pushed the league to switch to a fall-to-spring calendar more commonplace in other parts of the world, reasoning that doing so would simplify the process of buying and selling players. The on-field product is what matters. The on-field product is why MLS continues to face competition for viewers from overseas leagues. The on-field product is why the league hasn't succeeded in converting every soccer fan into a MLS fan. And ultimately, if casual viewers such as myself are to pay to watch the Galaxy or LAFC on a screen of some kind, the on-field product will be why. Get local news delivered to your inbox!

India is gearing up for a major milestone in its space journey with the launch of the Space Docking Experiment (SpaDEX), planned for December 30, 2024. The mission will be carried out by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) using the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C60). The rocket is set to take off at 9:58 PM IST from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota. This mission is an important step for ISRO as it will showcase its ability to dock two spacecraft in space. This is a key technology for future space missions. The main goal is to design and test the systems needed for bringing two spacecraft together, docking them, and then separating them again. Mission Summary and Goals The SpaDEX mission will send two identical satellites into space, named Chaser (SDX01) and Target (SDX02) . Each satellite weighs about 220 kilograms . The two satellites will be positioned in a circular orbit 470 km above Earth, at an angle of 55 degrees. The objectives of the mission are: Showing accurate movements needed to bring the satellites close together and connect them. Testing how electricity can be shared between two connected spacecraft. functioning of the payload after the satellites separate, with the mission lasting up to two years. Note : The term "payload" refers to the essential equipment or instruments carried by a spacecraft to perform its mission. It's a critical part of the satellite, as it directly contributes to achieving the mission's goals. ISRO announced that the PSLV-C60 rocket has been fully assembled and moved to the First Launch Pad for final tests before the mission. India's Progress Toward a Space Station The SpaDEX mission is an important step for India's space exploration goals," an ISRO official said. "It will make India the fourth country in the world to develop advanced docking technology." This technology is important for missions that need several launches to work together for a shared goal. It will be useful for tasks like repairing satellites, coordinating multiple spacecraft to fly in formation, and building complex structures in space, such as India’s planned space station, the Bharatiya Antariksh Station (BAS). Creative Use of PSLV’s Fourth Stage : Apart from its docking goals, the mission will make use of the PSLV rocket’s used-up fourth stage, called POEM-4 (PSLV Orbital Experimental Module). Instead of letting it go to waste, this stage will be turned into a platform to carry out experiments in microgravity, helping scientists test and study various conditions in space.The mission will carry 24 payloads onboard, provided by various academic institutions and startups. "PSLV's Fourth Stage Transformed for Experiments" The 4th stage of the PSLV rocket is the final part that helps place satellites into their orbits. Once its job is done, it usually becomes space junk, floating unused in orbit. However, ISRO has found a way to reuse it by turning it into a science platform called POEM. Now, instead of being wasted, it carries small experiments and tests in space, especially in microgravity. This makes better use of the rocket and reduces waste in space. After placing satellites into their desired orbits, the PSLV's 4th stage (PS4) remains in space with leftover fuel and onboard systems like batteries, solar panels, and communication equipment. ISRO modifies this stage to act as a platform for experiments. By attaching scientific instruments and sensors to it before launch, the stage can perform experiments in microgravity, test new technologies, or study space conditions. The fuel helps in minor adjustments, and its power systems keep the experiments running, turning the once-unused stage into a cost-effective space lab. Mission Design and Implementation Strategy The Chaser and Target will be released into orbit at the same time but as separate objects. The PSLV rocket is very accurate, so it will make sure the satellites are placed in orbit with only a small difference in their speeds. This means the satellites will start off moving almost together, making it easier to control and manage their movements in space. The Target satellite will use its onboard thrusters to slowly move away from the Chaser satellite, creating a distance of 10-20 kilometers between them. This phase is called the "Far Rendezvous" (a planned meeting or approach in space), where the satellites are far apart but still close enough to interact or prepare for the next steps in the mission. The Chaser satellite will gradually move closer to the Target satellite in steps, reducing the distance between them to 5 kilometers, then 1.5 kilometers, then 500 meters, 225 meters, 15 meters, and finally 3 meters. At this final distance, the two satellites will connect, or "dock," with each other. Once they are docked, the mission will test the transfer of power from one satellite to the other. After this test is complete, they will separate again to carry out other tasks with their payloads. The Chaser satellite, is equipped with a powerful high-resolution camera. The Target satellite, is equipped with special tools to study Earth and space. It carries a multispectral sensor, which can capture detailed images in different light wavelengths. This helps monitor natural resources, track vegetation health, and study the environment. Additionally, it has a radiation monitor to measure space radiation, which will help scientists collect important data and build a database for future research. Why SpaDEX Matters ? The SpaDEX mission is more than just a technology test; it is an important step toward ISRO's bigger plans. Learning how to dock spacecraft is essential for future goals like bringing back samples from the Moon, exploring other planets, and creating a long-term human presence in space. India is working to join a small group of countries—the US, Russia, and China—that have successfully developed in-space docking technology. This mission highlights ISRO's dedication to creating advanced space technology that is both effective and affordable. For the first time, ISRO is sending a robotic arm into space to test how it can collect space debris. Along with this, India’s first astrobiology experiments (studies related to life in space and how living organisms survive in space conditions) created by students from RV College of Engineering in Bengaluru and Amity University in Mumbai, are also heading to space. These experiments are part of the 24 payloads that the POEM platform will carry. Out of the 24 payloads, 14 come from ISRO’s Department of Space. One of these will focus on developing technologies to grow and sustain plants in space or on other planets. The remaining 10 payloads are from non-government organizations, including contributions from educational institutions. A team of undergraduate students from RV College of Engineering (RVCE) has created India’s first microbiology experiment for space research. Developed by Team Antariksh, the project focuses on studying how gut bacteria behave in space conditions. According to GS Varshini, the 20-year-old mission manager, this research is important for understanding how space affects human health, as this specific gut bacterium plays a key role in maintaining overall well-being. Their experiment will study how gut bacteria grow in microgravity. By adding prebiotics (nutrients that help bacteria grow), they will compare its growth in space with how it grows on Earth. This research is important for astronaut health, as it will help scientists understand how the human microbiome works in space. The findings could also be useful for managing waste in space, cleaning up pollutants (bioremediation), and creating new antibiotics for future space missions. Debris Capture & CROPS Research The CROPS (Compact Research Module for Orbital Plant Studies) payload is designed to help ISRO explore ways to grow and maintain plants in space in the future. This could be an important step for long-term space missions. Along with this, a robotic arm is being sent to test how it can capture space debris. As part of the experiment, a small cube (called a debris cube) will be attached to the robotic arm with a tether (a rope, chain, or similar device used to attach or secure something).The cube will be released into space, and the robotic arm will try to retrieve it. This test could help develop technology to clean up space debris in the future. Cowpea Seed Growth Experiment The CROPS payload, created by VSSC, is designed as a step-by-step platform to help ISRO develop the ability to grow and support plants in space or other planets. It is a fully automated system that will run a 5 to 7-day experiment to test if seeds can sprout and grow into small plants (up to the two-leaf stage) in microgravity. The experiment will use eight cowpea seeds, which will grow inside a closed box with controlled temperature. Various conditions like oxygen (O2) and carbon dioxide (CO2) levels, humidity, temperature, and soil moisture will be monitored. Cameras will also capture images to track the plants' growth. This research could help us understand how to grow food in space in the future. Robotic Arm for Space Debris Debris Capture Robotic Manipulator : Developed by VSSC, this experiment is designed to test how a robotic arm can capture space debris using a tether (a type of cord or cable that keeps objects connected). The robotic arm uses cameras and advanced motion prediction technology to locate and grab the debris, even as it moves in a space-like environment. It will also test a special tool called a parallel end-effector—this is like a robotic hand designed to grab and hold objects securely, making it easier to manipulate debris or other items in space. If this experiment works successfully, the robotic arm could eventually be used for more complex tasks in space. For example, it could capture free-floating debris (objects drifting in space without being tethered) or even refuel spacecraft, whether they are tethered or floating freely. These abilities will be very useful in future POEM missions, helping clean up space junk and making space operations more efficient. This research is a step toward solving the growing problem of space debris and improving how we maintain and use spacecraft in orbit. Spinach Growth Experiment in Space In a unique experiment, Amity University, Mumbai, will study how plants react to microgravity using its Amity Plant Experimental Module in Space (APEMS) payload. Amity University Vice-Chancellor, Santosh Kumar, explained that the experiment will use spinach (Spinacia oleracea) to study how plant cells (called callus, which are a mass of undifferentiated plant cells) grow and change under both space and Earth’s gravity. Sensors and cameras will monitor the growth and color of the callus, helping scientists understand how plants adapt to different gravity conditions. This research is important for figuring out how to grow plants during long space missions and could also benefit farming on Earth. (The author of this article is a Defence, Aerospace & Political Analyst based in Bengaluru. He is also Director of ADD Engineering Components, India, Pvt. Ltd, a subsidiary of ADD Engineering GmbH, Germany. You can reach him at: girishlinganna@gmail.com) (Disclaimer: The views expressed above are the author's own and do not reflect those of DNA)