Russia plans its first launch of a manned space mission from the Baikonur launch site this year with a crew that includes a NASA astronaut.

تخطط روسيا لإطلاق أول مهمة فضائية مأهولة من موقع بايكونور في يوليو 2026، مع طاقم يتضمن رائد فضاء من ناسا، مما يمثل خطوة مهمة في التعاون الدولي في الفضاء.

Rusia planea lanzar su primera misión espacial tripulada desde el sitio de lanzamiento de Baikonur en julio de 2026, con una tripulación que incluye a un astronauta de la NASA, marcando un paso significativo en la colaboración internacional en el espacio.

La Russie prévoit de lancer sa première mission spatiale habitée depuis le site de lancement de Baïkonour en juillet 2026, avec un équipage comprenant un astronaute de la NASA, marquant une étape significative dans la collaboration internationale dans l'espace.

Russia is set to launch its first crewed space mission from the Baikonur launch site in July 2026, featuring a crew that includes a NASA astronaut, marking a significant step in international space collaboration.

Russia Plans to Launch Crewed Spacecraft From Baikonur in July

<img src="https://spectrum.ieee.org/media-library/illustration-of-a-drone-being-used-to-collect-crop-data-on-a-wheat-farm.jpg?id=66888131&width=1245&height=700&coordinates=0%2C156%2C0%2C157"/> Nearly 750 million people face hunger today, according to the <a href="https://www.wfp.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">U.N. World Food Program</a>. And by 2050, global demand for food is expected to <a href="https://research.wri.org/wrr-food" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">increase by 50 percent from 2010 levels</a>, the <a href="https://www.wri.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">World Resources Institute</a> says.A <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/precision-agriculture" target="_self">smart agriculture</a> special-issue report recently released by the IEEE <a href="https://smartag.ieee.org/about/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Smart Agri-Food Initiative</a> says meeting the demand will require technology to expand food production. The report highlights research, case studies, and new ways of applying technology to inform farmers, engineers, and policymakers.Leading the initiative is IEEE Fellow <a href="https://engineering.msu.edu/directory/faculty/johnv" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">John Verboncoeur</a>, chair of the smart-food program and professor of electrical and computer engineering at <a href="https://msu.edu/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Michigan State University</a>, in East Lansing.“Food security is becoming a systems-engineering problem,” Verboncoeur says. “We’re no longer talking only about tractors and irrigation. We’re talking about sensing, communications, computation, automation, and sustainability all working together.”Although not formally trained as an agriculture scientist, Verboncoeur’s first involvement with smart agriculture was as an undergraduate at <a href="https://www.ufl.edu/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">University of Florida</a> in 1985-86, where he helped develop an SmartAg aeroponics system for <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">NASA</a> for the <a href="https://www.space.com/space-exploration/missions/international-space-station" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">International Space Station</a>. It used mist to spray the plants’ roots and lightweight pneumatic structures to hold the vegetation in place.He has also chaired the executive committee of Michigan State’s <a href="https://engineering.msu.edu/news/smartag-initiative" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">SmartAg Initiative</a> since it launched in 2017. He chaired the program’s leading interdisciplinary efforts to apply engineering and digital technologies to farming and food systems.Verboncoeur connects the shift of using engineering as a force multiplier for farming to lessons learned from <a href="https://smartvillage.ieee.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">the IEEE Smart Village</a> program, which supports projects and organizations bringing electricity and educational and employment opportunities to remote communities. Agriculture, he argues, requires the same systems-level mindset.“The challenge isn’t just inventing technology,” he says. “It’s making systems practical, affordable, and deployable.”<h2>From digital twins to autonomous harvesting</h2>A central theme across the Smart Agri-Food Systems report is the convergence of <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/tag/automation" target="_self">automation</a>, <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/tag/data-analytics" target="_self">data analytics</a>, and <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/tag/sustainability" target="_self">sustainability</a>.One paper, “<a href="https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10757158" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Smart Agriculture, Precision Agriculture, Digital Twins in Agriculture: Similarities and Differences</a>,” addresses the confusion regarding how researchers and practitioners define and apply the technologies to farming.The paper was written by <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=g4uefZ8AAAAJ&hl=tr" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Dilan Onat Alakuş</a>, a research assistant in the software engineering department at <a href="https://www.klu.edu.tr/dil/en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Kırklareli University</a>, in Türkiye, and <a href="https://abs.firat.edu.tr/en/iturkoglu" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Ibrahim Türkoğlu</a>, a software engineering professor at <a href="https://www.firat.edu.tr/en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Fırat University</a>, in Elazığ, Türkiye.Unclear terminology can lead to inefficient investment and poor adoption of the technologies, the two authors say. They note that agricultural methods based on traditional practices and intuition lack a thorough analysis of their environmental and economic impacts.They describe how three technologies can benefit farmers:• <a href="https://www.ibm.com/think/topics/smart-farming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Smart agriculture</a> systems integrate sensors, artificial intelligence, robotics, and analytics to improve efficiency and sustainability at scale.• <a href="https://www.nifa.usda.gov/grants/programs/precision-geospatial-sensor-technologies-programs/precision-agriculture-crop-production" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Precision agriculture</a> focuses on location-specific decisions. Farmers use GPS-guided equipment to map fields, deploy drones to monitor crop health, and install field sensors that track soil moisture and nutrient levels in targeted zones. The tools allow farmers to apply water, fertilizer, and pesticides only where needed—which can reduce waste and lessen environmental impact.• <a href="https://stories.tamu.edu/stories/revolutionizing-farming-with-digital-twin-technology/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Digital twins</a> create virtual replicas of an agricultural area. The resulting models simulate the farmstead, crops, and irrigation systems, allowing growers to test scenarios and predict outcomes before implementing changes.The authors emphasize that the categories overlap in practice. A digital twin might draw data from precision agriculture systems and feed recommendations into smart agriculture platforms.Clearer distinctions help farmers select appropriate tools and avoid unnecessary complexity and costs, they say.“This study contributed to conscious agricultural practices by differentiating agricultural technologies,” they wrote, adding that clearer definitions can increase productivity.<h2>Smart farming in practice</h2>The report shifts from theory to application in a paper describing bustani, which means my garden in Arabic. The <a href="https://www.siemens.com/en-us/company/insights/bustanica-smart-sustainable-food-production/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Bustanica</a> project in Saudi Arabia is an automated <a href="https://naes.unr.edu/publication.aspx?PubID=2756" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">hydroponic</a> vertical farming system developed by researchers at the <a href="https://www.pmu.edu.sa/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd University</a>, in Al-Khobar, Saudi Arabia. The “<a href="https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10262605" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Bustani: A Microcontroller-Based Automated Hydroponic Vertical Farming Solution</a>” paper was written by Hussah Alotaibi, a computer engineer at <a href="https://www.aramco.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Saudi Aramco</a>, the country’s national oil company; <a href="https://faculty.pmu.edu.sa/PMUFaculties/Details/abashar" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Abul Bashar</a>, Widad Karsou, and Shehvar Khan, researchers in the university’s computer engineering and computer science department; and <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/salahudeantohmeh/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Salahudean Tohmeh</a> from the university’s robotics laboratory.The Bustanica system combines hydroponics with <a href="https://modernfarmer.com/2018/07/how-does-aeroponics-work/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">aeroponics</a>, in which plant roots hang in the air and receive nutrients through a misting system. Together, the approaches allow crops to grow in compact indoor environments, using far less water than traditional methods.The method integrates IoT sensors that continuously monitor water chemistry and reservoir conditions.The system grows crops in controlled indoor environments. A closed-loop design recirculates water to reduce waste. Sensors measure pH levels, nutrient concentration, and water levels. An <a href="https://store-usa.arduino.cc/products/arduino-mega-2560-rev3?srsltid=AfmBOoo0R26HAmA6wzpWcLox4xblaJMN5pJd3LrQ9-WxRSNeOFexbpg_" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Arduino Mega</a> processes the sensor data. A <a href="https://store-usa.arduino.cc/products/nodemcu-esp8266?srsltid=AfmBOooGec0X-8y74JWHtORpxFCN-kITJ_YiiUZfFC8_GcmiBYh0RlwV" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">NodeMCU</a> <a href="https://store-usa.arduino.cc/products/nodemcu-esp8266?srsltid=AfmBOooGec0X-8y74JWHtORpxFCN-kITJ_YiiUZfFC8_GcmiBYh0RlwV" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">ESP8266</a>—a low-cost, open-source IoT platform—handles Wi-Fi communication and cloud connectivity.The system sends the data through Google’s <a href="https://firebase.google.com/firebase-and-gcp" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Firebase cloud platform</a>, which acts as a real-time bridge between sensors and control systems.A mobile app lets users monitor and control the system remotely. It displays real-time data on lighting, nutrient levels, and water pump activity. When conditions move outside optimal ranges, automated dosing pumps adjust the levels as needed.Engineering can’t solve all the world’s problems. But it absolutely has a role to play in helping the world feed itself.” —<a href="https://engineering.msu.edu/directory/faculty/johnv" target="_blank">John Verboncoeur</a>, chair of the IEEE Smart Agri-Food initiativeThe system operates as a feedback loop, collecting data, transmitting it to the cloud, analyzing the conditions, and automatically triggering adjustments.LEDs simulate sunlight. Ultrasonic sensors measure water levels. Electrical conductivity sensors track nutrient concentration. During testing, the system maintained stable environmental conditions and adjusted dosing dynamically as readings changed.The authors describe the outcome as “a fully functional and automated vertical sustainable farm that creates desirable growing conditions, along with an <a href="https://developer.android.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Android application</a> that provides real-time monitoring and notifications.”Beyond automation, bustani reflects a broader shift toward merging agriculture with consumer technology and smart-home systems. Future plans include integrating the <a href="https://apps.apple.com/us/app/amazon-alexa/id944011620" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Amazon Alexa</a> virtual assistant and machine learning tools for plant disease detection and growth analysis.<h2>Robotics and labor challenges</h2>The “<a href="https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9328092" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Toward an Efficient Tomato Harvesting Robot</a>” paper addresses autonomous harvesting, a long-standing challenge in agricultural robotics. Tomatoes in the field vary widely in size, shape, and ripeness, and they can bruise during handling. The paper was written by IEEE Senior Member <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Hyoung-Son" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Hyoung Il Son</a>—a professor of biosystems engineering and robotics at <a href="https://global.jnu.ac.kr/jnumain_en.aspx" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Chonnam National University</a> in Gwangju, South Korea—and his graduate students Jongpyo Jun, Jeongin Kim, and Jaehwi Seol.The paper describes how robotics is increasingly being used to target crops once considered too delicate or variable for automation.The researcher combined <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/tag/machine-vision" target="_self">3D machine vision</a>,<a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/robots-getting-a-grip-on-general-manipulation" target="_self"> </a><a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/tag/robotic-arm" target="_self">robotic arms</a>, <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/robots-getting-a-grip-on-general-manipulation" target="_self">suction-based grippers</a>, and rotating cutting tools to build a harvesting machine capable of operating in unstructured outdoor environments. The system aims to reduce reliance on manual labor while improving harvesting efficiency and consistency.<h2>Agriculture as a systems problem</h2>Verboncoeur says the developments highlighted in the papers reflect a broad transformation in how engineers view the agricultural industry.“Agriculture used to be seen primarily as managing the challenges of planting, watering, and fertilizing plants, and using machines to make the process less labor-intensive,” he says. “Now it’s also a data problem, a communications problem, an energy problem, and a resilience problem.”Another featured paper, “<a href="https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9823634" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Sustainable and Smart Agriculture: A Holistic Approach</a>,” examines how technology can address environmental and demographic pressures. The paper was written by Surender Singh and Sannihit , researchers at the computer science and engineering and the civil engineering departments at <a href="https://www.cuchd.in/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Chandigarh University</a>, in Mohali, India.Farmers must increase food production while reducing environmental damage from depleting water resources, overapplication of fertilizer, deforestation, and greenhouse gas emissions, the authors say. They describe smart farming as “a revolution in food production” that can allow farmers to generate higher yields from existing resources through connected technologies and data systems.The authors highlighted the issue of rapid urbanization. By 2050, they report, nearly 70 percent of the global population will live in cities, increasing pressure on food supply chains and distribution systems.<a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/tag/wireless-networks" target="_self">Wireless sensor networks</a> will play a central role in the transformation, the researchers say. The networks use small, connected devices to monitor soil moisture, temperature, humidity, light intensity, and crop conditions. The system transmits the data to cloud platforms, where <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667318521000106" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">machine learning models</a> analyze trends and recommend actions.The authors emphasize that decision support, not automation alone, drives the greatest value of crop harvest. Farmers can integrate the information into crop management strategies to improve productivity while reducing their environmental impact.They also note increasing collaboration between industry leaders such as <a href="https://www.cat.com/en_US/by-industry/agriculture.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Caterpillar</a>, <a href="https://www.cnh.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">CNH</a>, <a href="https://www.deere.com/en/attachments-accessories-and-implements/riding-mower-attachments/?CID=PPC_MDS_RLE_enUS_r00203_6750007&gclsrc=aw.ds&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=23567875588&gbraid=0AAAAADJlG2AVOkwf8jCPTL3Is7RpWpuxP&gclid=CjwKCAjwwpDQBhAuEiwAa-4WowUzQ4o3w2BdVyCxuJfxtXaK9rQw8pBa5ZteOqvaNPIr9M_v55wKNxoCqmAQAvD_BwE" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">John Deere</a>, and <a href="https://www.kubota.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Kubota</a> and technology companies including <a href="https://www.bosch.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Bosch</a>, <a href="https://www.google.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Google</a>, <a href="https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/homepage.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Intel</a>, and <a href="https://www.microsoft.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Microsoft</a>. Challenges remain, however, in communication reliability, sensor cost, and scalable data infrastructure, the authors say.<h2>SmartAg beyond the farm</h2>The implications of the tech advances that make farming more efficient extend beyond agriculture. Many of the same technologies—remote sensing, wireless sensor networks, AI analytics, and cloud platforms—support <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/topic/transportation/" target="_self">transportation</a>, <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/topic/energy/" target="_self">energy</a>, and industrial systems.The convergence explains IEEE’s growing involvement. Modern agriculture now combines electronics, <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/tag/communications" target="_self">communications</a>, <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/topic/computing/" target="_self">computing</a>, and <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/tag/control-systems" target="_self">control systems</a>.Agriculture requires that integration, Verboncoeur says: “The challenge isn’t just inventing technology. It’s making systems practical, affordable, and deployable.”<h2>What’s next for smart agriculture?</h2>The special issue marks an early stage for the IEEE Smart Agri-Food initiative, which plans to develop <a href="https://www.osha.gov/agricultural-operations/standards" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">standards</a>; create structured ways for farmers, researchers, governments, and agribusinesses to work together; and devise deployment strategies for smart systems.Future research is likely to focus on interoperability between platforms, data sharing, and scalable deployment models. Digital twins are expected to play a larger role as computing power and sensor density increase. Simulating agricultural systems before applying changes in the field will become commonplace, experts predict.Adoption depends on more than technical capability, though. The central tension moving forward lies between innovation and practicality.“Farmers face challenges in adopting such technology due to cost, electricity availability, communication infrastructure, and vulnerability of connected devices,” Singh and Sannihit wrote.Smart agriculture offers improved efficiency, in addition to reducing the inputs of water, fertilizer, and time that would otherwise be spent on tasks machines can handle autonomously. But the benefits matter only if systems function reliably across diverse environments—from industrial farms to small, family-run operations in food-insecure regions.For IEEE, agriculture now sits within core engineering domains. The stakes extend beyond technology itself, Verboncoeur says.He adds that: “Food insecurity affects stability, health, education, and economic development. Engineering can’t solve all the world’s problems, but it absolutely has a role to play in helping the world feed itself.”

يواجه حوالي 750 مليون شخص الجوع اليوم، ومن المتوقع أن تزداد الطلبات العالمية على الغذاء بنسبة 50 في المئة بحلول عام 2050، وفقًا لبرنامج الأغذية العالمي التابع للأمم المتحدة ومعهد الموارد العالمية. يشير تقرير حديث من مبادرة الزراعة الذكية التابعة لـ IEEE إلى أن التكنولوجيا، وخاصة في الزراعة الذكية، ستكون ضرورية لتلبية هذا الطلب المتزايد وتعزيز كفاءة إنتاج الغذاء.

Casi 750 millones de personas enfrentan hambre actualmente, y se espera que la demanda global de alimentos aumente un 50 por ciento para 2050, según el Programa Mundial de Alimentos de la ONU y el Instituto de Recursos Mundiales. Un informe reciente de la Iniciativa Smart Agri-Food de IEEE destaca que la tecnología, especialmente en la agricultura inteligente, será esencial para satisfacer esta creciente demanda y mejorar la eficiencia de la producción alimentaria.

Près de 750 millions de personnes souffrent actuellement de la faim, et la demande mondiale de nourriture devrait augmenter de 50 % d'ici 2050, selon le Programme alimentaire mondial des Nations Unies et le World Resources Institute. Un rapport récent de l'Initiative Smart Agri-Food de l'IEEE souligne que la technologie, en particulier dans l'agriculture intelligente, sera essentielle pour répondre à cette demande croissante et améliorer l'efficacité de la production alimentaire.

Nearly 750 million people currently face hunger, and global food demand is projected to increase by 50 percent by 2050, according to the U.N. World Food Program and the World Resources Institute. A recent report from the IEEE Smart Agri-Food Initiative emphasizes that technology, particularly in smart agriculture, will be essential to meet this rising demand and enhance food production efficiency.

Engineering Is Critical to Boosting Food Security

This has been a persistent, behind-the-scenes dispute between NASA and Roscosmos.

يبدو أن روسيا تستعد أخيرًا لمعالجة الشقوق الخطيرة وطويلة الأمد في محطتها الفضائية، وهو موضوع كان مصدر توتر مستمر بين ناسا وروسكوسموس. يشير هذا التطور إلى احتمال حدوث تغيير في التعاون والتواصل بين الوكالتين الفضائيتين.

Rusia parece estar lista para abordar finalmente las graves y persistentes grietas en su estación espacial, un asunto que ha sido motivo de disputa entre la NASA y Roscosmos. Este desarrollo sugiere un posible cambio en la colaboración y comunicación entre las dos agencias espaciales.

La Russie semble enfin prête à s'attaquer à des fissures graves et de longue date dans sa station spatiale, un sujet qui a été une source de tension persistante entre la NASA et Roscosmos. Ce développement suggère un potentiel changement dans la collaboration et la communication entre les deux agences spatiales.

Russia is reportedly preparing to address longstanding and significant cracks in its space station, a matter that has been a source of ongoing tension between NASA and Roscosmos. This development suggests a potential shift in collaboration and communication between the two space agencies.

Russia appears set to finally address long-term, serious space station cracks

The plane will soon be ready to fly over US communities.

حققت طائرة X-59 التابعة لناسا إنجازات مهمة في السرعة والارتفاع، مما يقربها من أولى رحلاتها فوق الصوتية الهادئة فوق المجتمعات الأمريكية. يمثل هذا التطور خطوة حاسمة في إعداد الطائرة للاختبارات التشغيلية التي تهدف إلى تقليل التلوث الضوضائي المرتبط بالسفر فوق الصوتي.

La aeronave X-59 de la NASA ha alcanzado hitos significativos en velocidad y altitud, acercándose a sus primeros vuelos supersónicos silenciosos sobre comunidades estadounidenses. Este desarrollo marca un paso crucial en la preparación del avión para pruebas operativas destinadas a minimizar la contaminación acústica asociada con los viajes supersónicos.

L'avion X-59 de la NASA a réussi à atteindre des jalons significatifs en termes de vitesse et d'altitude, le rapprochant de ses premiers vols supersoniques silencieux au-dessus des communautés américaines. Ce développement constitue une étape cruciale dans la préparation de l'avion pour des tests opérationnels visant à minimiser la pollution sonore associée aux voyages supersoniques.

NASA's X-59 aircraft has successfully achieved significant speed and altitude milestones, bringing it closer to its first quiet supersonic flights over U.S. communities. This development marks a pivotal step in the aircraft's preparation for operational testing aimed at minimizing noise pollution associated with supersonic travel.

Russia Plans to Launch Crewed Spacecraft From Baikonur in July

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