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Sri Lanka’s Piyumi Wijesekara among new NASA crew for next simulated Mars journey

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Sri Lanka’s Piyumi Wijesekera has been selected as one of NASA’s four new volunteer crew members for a simulated mission to Mars, taking place within a habitat at the agency’s Johnson Space Centre in Houston.

Joining Wijesekera are Jason Lee, Stephanie Navarro, and Shareef Al Romaithi. The team will enter the agency’s Human Exploration Research Analog, or HERA, on Friday, May 10th. Over the course of 45 days, they will live and work like astronauts before exiting the facility on June 24th, simulating their “return” to Earth. Jose Baca and Brandon Kent serve as alternate crew members for this mission.

HERA provides scientists with insights into how crew members adapt to isolation, confinement, and remote conditions, crucial for preparing astronauts for deep space missions to destinations like the Moon and Mars.

During their simulated mission to the Red Planet, the crew will conduct scientific research and operational tasks, including virtual “walks” on Mars’s surface and experiencing communication delays with Mission Control Centre lasting up to five minutes each way as they “approach” Mars.

This crew marks the second group of volunteers to participate in a simulated Mars mission in HERA this year, with two more missions planned before the end of 2024. Piyumi Wijesekera, a postdoctoral research scientist at NASA Ames Research Centre in California’s Silicon Valley, specializes in developing tissue models to study the effects of spaceflight stressors on the human respiratory system.

Wijesekera holds a bachelor’s degree in bioengineering from the University of California, San Diego, and master’s and doctorate degrees in biomedical engineering from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Her doctoral research focused on stem cell and organ engineering, particularly in engineering lung models to study respiratory diseases.

Living in San Francisco, Wijesekera enjoys spending time with family and friends, running along the San Francisco Bay, reading, hiking, volunteering at the food pantry, and attending concerts and musicals.

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Yevan David set for historic Monaco FIA Formula 3 debut

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Young Sri Lankan driver Yevan David is set to make his Monaco debut this weekend as the FIA Formula 3 Championship resumes after its opening round in Melbourne.

Driving for AIX Racing, the 18-year-old enters the iconic street race after testing at the Red Bull Ring, simulator preparation, and time spent balancing his racing programme with A-Level examinations.

David, the first Sri Lankan to compete in FIA Formula 3, said Monaco is one of motorsport’s biggest challenges due to its narrow layout, limited overtaking opportunities and high track evolution.

“Confidence and precision are just as important as outright speed,” David said, adding that he had focused heavily on simulator work ahead of the weekend.

The Monaco round runs from June 4 to 7, with the Sprint Race on Saturday and Feature Race on Sunday, according to the FIA Formula 3 calendar.

David will also race with a special helmet tribute to Ayrton Senna, whose Monaco performances remain among the most famous in Formula 1 history.

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A New Global Marina Front Address for Sri Lanka Presented by Prime & Melwa

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Prime and Melwa have unveiled the Prime Marina Sales Suite at Port City Colombo, a first of its kind in the region and a new benchmark for how a landmark real estate address is presented to the world. it has designed for globally minded, internationally travelled, and long past the language of conventional real estate. Every space within it is intentional, every detail deliberates crafted to ensure that the moment a customer steps in, they understand, without a word of explanation, exactly what this address represents and why it stands apart. The grandeur of the Suite set the tone unlike anything Sri Lanka’s real estate has witnessed before. Distinguished guests, business leaders, and investors from across the island and beyond gathered to witness a presentation commanding in its scale, immaculate in its execution, and resolute in its singular ambition.

“The Prime Marina Sales Suite was conceived knowing that everyone who walks in will have seen the best of what international Real Estate have to offer. Our benchmark was not Sri Lanka. Our benchmark is the world.”

Sandamini Perera, Co-Chairperson, Prime Group

A highlight of the day was the compelling presentation delivered by Mr. Sanmith Tharunya, Director of Prime Group, who took guests beyond the architecture and amenities to reveal the extraordinary vision behind Prime Marina. Through a presentation that was both inspiring and thought-provoking, he invited the audience to see beyond a conventional real estate development and appreciate the emergence of a truly global waterfront destination.

At this Suite, stands Prime Marina: an address of genuine global standing, unveiled to the world with the weight it deserves. Positioned at the very heart of Port City Colombo, on the Marina precinct, Prime Marina occupies the precise point where the iconic waterfront bridge, the Indian Ocean, and the Marina itself converge, a location that announces itself before a word is spoken, and that no other available plot in this city can claim. Rising from that singular position are landmark towers featuring 1, 2, 3, and 4-bedroom apartments and exclusive penthouses, architecturally authored by P&T Singapore, a firm whose work defines the standard across the most rigorous real estate markets in world.

Furthermore, the iconic development engaging one of Singapore’s top tier interior design companies, Index Design Pte Ltd, globally acclaimed architectural firm, to curate an exceptional interior environment that reflects the highest benchmarks of international design, craftsmanship, and luxury living.

In addition, the landscape architecture is being entrusted to Grant Associates of the UK, an internationally acclaimed landscape architecture practice renowned for creating some of the world’s most iconic and sustainable environments. Their involvement further reinforces our commitment to delivering a development that meets the highest global standards in design and aesthetics

The building commands unobstructed water on two sides: the living energy of a world class marina on one, the quiet stillness of a natural creek on the other. Prime Marina’s buyers are not simply acquiring a residence. They are claiming a rare stake in the future of a world class city destined to redefine Region’s waterfront real estate landscape.

It is the combined strength of Prime and Melwa two strong conglomerate that have shaped Sri Lanka’s economy and real estate landscape across decades, which has made a project of this scale and distinction possible

As Port City Colombo takes its place on the world stage, Prime Marina stands at its very forefront, setting a new benchmark for marina-front living in South Asia and establishing a legacy that will endure for generations to come.

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Nilshani to represent Sri Lanka at UN conference

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Nilshani de Silva, one of Sri Lanka’s leading disability rights advocates, has been selected to represent the country at the 19th Conference of States Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, to be held at the United Nations Headquarters.

Serving as Sri Lanka’s youth representative at this year’s conference, she has also been invited to address the assembly alongside international leaders, including the United Nations Secretary-General, during the opening session on 9 June.

Notably, Sri Lanka will hold the presidency of this year’s Conference of States Parties, which is regarded as one of the world’s foremost forums dedicated to advancing and protecting the rights of persons with disabilities.

Nilshani de Silva, who has Down syndrome, is widely recognised as an advocate for the rights of Sri Lanka’s disabled community. She is also known as a skilled counsellor, teacher and fashion designer.

Reports indicate that this international recognition has been awarded in appreciation of her efforts to challenge societal misconceptions and champion the rights of persons with disabilities.

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