Remember the time when space missions were all about rocket fuel, moon boots, and a lot of hope and prayer? Well, now there is a new crew member onboard: Artificial Intelligence (AI). From remote piloting spacecraft to navigating the surface of another planet, AI is now essential to space missions. Some of the modern AI systems are far more capable than we have ever imagined. You don’t need to be worried about AIs like HAL 9000 anymore; think less, “I’m afraid I can’t do that,” and more, “Let me optimize your lunar landing path in 0.02 seconds.“

Before the widespread use of AI in space exploration, most missions depended heavily on human experts to do tasks like mission planning, manual spacecraft control, and analyzing data. These often took a lot of time and resources, and making quick decisions during a mission was often difficult. AI is changing all of that with high-speed data analysis and automation. 

Space research organizations all over the world are already using AI. In fact, the global market for AI in space exploration is said to reach a whopping $12 billion by 2028. In this blog post, we’ll explore how AI is reshaping space missions all over the world. Let’s get started!

The Role of AI in Space Missions

Did you know there is a flying AI robot inside the International Space Station (ISS)? It’s called CIMON, and it was created by Airbus at the German Aerospace Center using IBM’s AI. CIMON flies around all day in zero gravity to help astronauts in their daily tasks and act as a companion. It can also see, speak, and understand the commands of astronauts. 

The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) is also developing an AI robot for its own manned space missions, known as Vyommitra. Unlike CIMON, which looks more like a Roomba with a face, Vyommitra is a lot more humanoid in design (half-humanoid, to be specific). It’s designed to act like a human, keeping an eye on important systems, sending out alerts if something goes wrong, and managing life support to help keep astronauts safe in space.

CIMON and Vyommitra are most definitely cool, but the role of AI in space goes beyond robots for companionship. Here are more ways AI tools are used in space research and exploration:

• Analyzing Large Volumes of Data: Every day, satellites, telescopes, and rovers send back huge amounts of information, way more than scientists can go through on their own. AI tools can help sort through all this data quickly and identify what’s important, like new planets or strange surface features on the Sun. 

• Monitor Astranout Health: Long space missions are tough on astronauts. AI tools can keep an eye on their health by tracking things like heart rate, sleep, and stress. AI robots like CIMON can be used to give emotional support when needed.

• Preparing for Future Missions: As we plan missions to far-off celestial objects like Saturn’s icy moons, AI will be even more important. It can make decisions on its own, help find signs of life, and manage science experiments, all without constant input from Earth (which can be delayed due to the distance).

• Interplanetary Exploration: AI algorithms assist space robots like the Mars rovers drive autonomously, avoid rocks and craters, and choose what to study, all without any help from Earth. It also helps the Entry, Descent, and Landing (EDL) systems to safely slow down to deploy the rovers on the surface of Mars using real time data.

History of AI in Space Exploration

Next, let’s take a moment to talk about the history of AI in space exploration. One of the early milestones came with NASA’s Deep Space 1 mission in 1998. It was the first spacecraft to test autonomous navigation, allowing the spacecraft to adjust its own path without commands from Earth. This was a breakthrough at the time. 

Deep Space 1 laid the groundwork for AI-driven navigation in deep space. Over the years, as AI became more advanced, its potential in space missions increased. In 2004, NASA introduced ‘Autonomous Exploration for Gathering Increased Science’ (AEGIS), an AI software used on the Mars rovers. The software allows the rovers to autonomously select interesting Martian rocks to study and analyze. 

In the 2010s, with further advancements in deep learning, AI really began to lift off (no pun intended). Space agencies started using machine learning to process data from telescopes like Kepler and Hubble, which led to the discovery of many previously unnoticed planets.

Speaking of telescopes, The James Webb space telescope is the largest and the most advanced telescope to be launched into space (25 December 2021), and it collects a lot of data. To handle the sheer scale of data, scientists are using an AI system called Morpheus. It is trained to analyze telescope images pixel by pixel. Using AI and powerful supercomputers, Morpheus helps classify galaxies and other celestial objects automatically, making it possible to explore the early universe far faster than humans ever could alone.

Rover with a Brain: AI Aboard NASA’s Perseverance

NASA’s Perseverance rover is part of a long-term mission to explore Mars using robots. One of its main goals is to look for signs of ancient life, like tiny microbes that may have lived on the planet long ago. It’s currently exploring an area called Jezero Crater, which scientists think might have once had water and the right conditions to support life. Perseverance is studying the rocks there to find clues about Mar’s past. Unfortunately, it hasn’t bumped into Matt Damon yet. 

Rovers like Perseverance are equipped with many AI systems for navigation and to perform scientific research. Using its AI-driven auto-navigation system called AutoNav, the rover can make accurate 3D maps of the Martian terrain ahead. It can detect hazards on the way and plan routes around them without any assistance from Earth. Perseverance also uses the AI based AEGIS system (discussed in the previous section) to study Martian rocks. AEGIS works with the rover’s SuperCam laser tool, helping it aim and analyze rock features that match what scientists are looking for. 

On May 18, 2022, Perseverance used the AEGIS system for the first time on Martian rocks. The rock, which was about 16 feet (5 meters) away, was named “AEGIS_0442B” based on the Martian day (or sol).

AI vs Kesseler Syndrome: Preventing Domino Effect in Space

You must be wondering, Satellite collisions? Is it really a big deal? Stuff collides here on Earth all the time, right? Oh yes, it’s a big deal, and it’s not the same as collisions here on Earth. When satellites (or anything) collide in the zero gravity of space, the resulting debris will spread out and stay in space, and they’ll stay up there for a very long time. 

Then, there is the problem of Kessler Syndrome. It’s a hypothetical scenario predicting a catastrophic chain reaction in Earth’s orbit where space debris collisions generate more debris. This leads to an exponential increase in the amount of space junk covering the Earth’s orbit, making it difficult for rockets to travel to deep space.

Satellite collision avoidance systems are crucial to keeping space travel safe and usable. The European Space Agency (ESA) is working on an innovative system using AI and machine learning to tackle this. This system will automatically check for potential collisions, decide if a satellite needs to move, and even send move commands when necessary. In the future, satellites could make these decisions themselves and share their plans with other operators to avoid conflicts. As the AI system learns from more data, it will become even more accurate. 

Weather Forecasting on the Moon?

Yes, you read that right. But, it’s a different kind of weather, known as cosmic radiation. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) plans to develop a system to forecast weather on the moon using artificial intelligence. This can help predict the occurrences of strong cosmic radiation rays from the sun.

Cosmic radiation can be extremely harmful to humans, but it won’t reach Earth’s surface as the atmosphere filters it out. But, in the vacuum of space, it’s a different story. For astronauts, prolonged exposure to these radiations can increase the risk of cancer, damage DNA, and weaken the immune system. It can also affect the brain and central nervous system, potentially impairing cognitive function and making it a serious issue for long-duration space missions.

The goal is to detect dangerous solar flares and bursts of high-energy particles by analyzing past data from NASA and other agencies. Since the Moon also has no atmosphere to block harmful radiation, it hits the surface directly. This system would give astronauts an early warning so they can take cover in time. It’s being developed for NASA’s Artemis program, with Japan aiming to send astronauts to the Moon around 2028.

Voyager and Palantir: Shaping the Future of Space Stations with AI

Space stations are vital to space research as they provide a long-term, stable platform for conducting experiments and testing technologies in microgravity. Many organizations took part in the construction of the International Space Station (ISS). However, the ISS is getting old and needs to be replaced, and many organizations are partnering up to create a new station (Starlab).

Among them, Voyager, a major player in space exploration, has teamed up with Palantir Technologies, a top company known for its advanced AI systems. This partnership will help speed up progress in space technology by bringing Palantir’s powerful AI tools into Voyager’s work.

Voyager is looking into using Palantir’s powerful AI tools like Foundry and Artificial Intelligence Platform (AIP). These AI tools can help improve how Voyager manages equipment and experiments on the ISS. It’ll also play a key role in its future Starlab space station. Additionally, Voyager is also acquiring LEOcloud to expand its AI tech capabilities. This will bring secure AI computing to space, making satellite communication and real-time data processing easier, especially for future Moon missions.

Billionaires, Rockets, and AI: The New Frontier in Space Exploration

So far, we have talked about NASA, ISRO, JAXA, etc, all national space agencies. Let’s take a closer look at some private agencies and their AI innovations.

SpaceX, billionaire Elon Musk’s private space company, uses AI to land its Falcon rockets on its own. AI tools are also used to manage its Starlink satellite network and guide spacecraft like the Dragon capsule. AI also helps them run faster training simulations and improve designs for projects like ‘Starship.’ These technologies are said to play a key role in the company’s plan to land the first humans on the surface of Mars (so Matt Damon can finally have some friends). The Falcon rockets and Starships are all very impressive, but why did Elon Musk launch his car into space?

Elon’s not the only billionaire playing with AI and rockets. Amazon’s founder, Jeff Bezos, also has his own space company, Blue Origins. They also use AI to land their rockets, perform maintenance checks, and help their lunar lander named Blue Moon safely navigate the Moon’s surface.

Another private company, Rocket Lab, known for launching small satellites quickly and reliably, uses AI to pick the best time to launch, handle emergency flight shutdowns automatically, and keep track of satellite health in space using its Photon platform. It also uses AI to detect issues during manufacturing. Similarly, Relativity Space takes it further by combining AI with 3D printing to build rockets. 

Touchdown: Wrapping Up the Mission

As we venture deeper into the cosmos, AI is going to be a mission-critical component, from piloting rovers on Mars to protecting future space stations from orbital debris. It’s no longer just humans reaching for the stars; it’s algorithms, data, and machine learning models coding their way into the final frontier. With AI riding shotgun in our Starship, the rest of the universe doesn’t seem quite so far away.

And who knows? Maybe one day, AI will help us discover life outside of Earth. Hopefully, it won’t be Matt Damon. 

This article was contributed to the Scribe of AI blog by Nabin Naseer.

At Scribe of AI, we spend day in and day out creating content to push traffic to your AI company’s website and educate your audience on all things AI. This is a space for our writers to have a little creative freedom and show-off their personalities. If you would like to see what we do during our 9 to 5, please check out our services.