News

SpaceX Inspiration4 Tourists Share Incredible Photos Of Earth

While the views from the large glass cupola were spectacular, the three-day expedition was not without its challenges.

Published

5 years ago

November 16, 2021

Joanna Melki

Inspiration4

In September, four space tourists spent three days circling the Earth on board a SpaceX Crew Dragon spaceship, and Inspiration4 has published magnificent new photographs shot by the crew.

The photographs show stunning views of the Earth below, including unusual angles of the Sun peaking up from beyond the horizon, bordered by the spacecraft’s large glass dome as a protective cover.

Inspiration4

The photos taken from Inspiration4 can be downloaded in high resolution from Flickr, which is a huge improvement over the slow stream of selfies and blurry in-orbit shots we were getting at the time.

Also Read: SpaceX To Launch The Arab World’s Most Advanced Satellite In 2023

While the views from the large glass cupola were spectacular, the three-day expedition was not without its challenges. For example, when the crew adjusted to life after launch, the onboard toilet began to malfunction, and at least one of the crew members got space sick.

Inspiration4

Despite the challenges, the high resolution photographs prove once and for all that the sights from hundreds of kilometers above the Earth’s surface are indeed breathtaking.

News

Abu Dhabi’s Robot Kitchen Is Serving Up Biryani, Not Burgers

Circus SE wants to put a tiny automated factory inside the buildings where Gulf residents live and work, bypassing part of last-mile delivery.

Published

6 days ago

October 20, 2026

Nour Nasir

abu dhabi's robot kitchen is serving up biryani not burgers

Circus SE

The most telling thing about a new autonomous kitchen now running in Abu Dhabi’s Marina Square is what it won’t cook:

“We don’t do fast food,” says Nikolas Bullwinkel, Founder and CEO of Circus SE. “We’ve actively decided not to build a machine that can only do burgers”.

Instead, the CA-1 system is built around pot-based cooking: curries, pastas, soups and rice dishes. After experimenting with highly personalized recipes, Circus deliberately leaned back toward recognizable food. “We’re going with a chicken biryani because you know it,” Bullwinkel says of the AED 40 dish.

circus se ca-1 robot system

The Germany-based robotics and food technology company operates across eight countries, and Abu Dhabi is its first deployment outside Europe. More locations are expected there and in Dubai.

In Germany, its units can be placed in supermarkets, gas stations, airports and hospitals. In the Gulf, Bullwinkel wants them inside residential and office buildings, replacing some of the complexity of last-mile delivery. “We’re basically bringing a very tiny factory a few square meters into your building,” he says. Catering company Royal Prestige supplies the ingredients and knowledge of local tastes.

The CA-1 manages up to 36 refrigerated ingredient silos alongside automated induction cooking, robotic plating and a self-cleaning dishwasher. Two robotic arms move ingredients through the system with minimal human intervention. It can produce up to 120 hot meals an hour, and a meal such as rice and curry can take around three to four minutes.

Also Read: Ooredoo Qatar’s 5G+ Network Is Built For Machines As Much As People

Five cameras and multiple sensors monitor heat, temperature and consistency, an attempt to approximate what a chef perceives. “You can hear something gets burned, you can smell it, you can see it at some point,” Bullwinkel says. CircusOS, the company’s operating system, adjusts recipes in real time.

You might think of the platform as a threat to kitchen staff, but Bullwinkel frames Circus as a way for chefs to develop recipes and distribute them at scale. With that being said, rising labor costs and shortages are also part of his case for automation.