The influence of Artificial Intelligence in future space travels

Mankind has constantly worked to evolve and procreate. This instinct is inborn and lives inside each one of us. To imagine a simple human being, able to create an advanced tech, a mirror image of themselves with a wide scale of abilities creating new opportunities to expand from!! Is inspiring!

Artificial Intelligence is a novel creation, that is a huge trench that needs further exploration and research to master it.

Excellence can only be achieved through the act of perseverance ~ Prince Mathew.

While space and the stars have fascinated the entire human race, space travel has received a historic boost after the successful Space-X rocket demonstration. It is moments like these, that seed the minds of the younger generation. Opening their eyes and their mind to think higher, to dream bigger and to reach places where no one have gone before.

How is NASA revolutionising by adopting AI?

NASA is developing a cognitive data network with the help of AI, by accessing an electromagnetic spectrum that is rather underutilized, nor being used to its full potential by other competitors. This new data pathway could be used to facilitate communication over long distance in outer space, without the worry of losing mission-critical information or clogged communication networks.

Researchers from NASA are using AI to assist Artemis astronauts to navigate on the surface of the moon with the help of celestial navigation. GPS navigation can only help you when you are navigating within the boundaries of the surface of Earth. Astronauts make use of this celestial navigation by taking pictures of their surroundings and feeding these data into an AI database. The AI then analyses the data received from the astronauts and gives them the precise location of their position on the moon.

AI technology will be a major breakthrough for the early Artemis astronauts scheduled to begin their project sometime around the year, 2024.

Artificial Intelligence currently works effortlessly in every spacecraft that lifts off into space, including the Space-X modules. AI is taking over the most critical of functions that monitor mission status, to the very health of the vehicle that carries our precious astronauts into space during each mission.

This dependence on AI over critical functions of the spacecraft will be vital for future long-distance space missions, since it will take over more control and assistance from ground control stations back on Earth. Astronauts are a key player in manoeuvring and mission control, but the future demands our co-dependence for the success of such demanding missions which shall takes its toll, both on the human body and the machine.

One such prototype that is laying the foundation for the future of modern AI spacecraft monitoring is SHARP – Spacecraft Health Automated Reasoning Prototype. Since the early 1990’s, (JPL) The Jet Propulsion Laboratory has been working on an automated system that works primarily on monitoring the health of a spacecraft.

The future of Artificial Intelligence in space missions

The future of AI applications in space technology is still in its infantile stages. Applications which currently exist are in use for lunar missions and at prototype stage for future space missions. What is a matter of contention though, is deciding the level of dependence we should hand over to an automated Artificial Intelligence system? Should AI take full control over future missions or will humans take control over critical decisions and seek the assistance of AI as merely a supportive role? Only time and space will tell.

There is hope and a lot of positives that we can collect from the existing success mankind is reaping, through the incorporation of AI technology. The future too may hold the same level of assurance and determination to take mankind to a whole new level of space exploration, where Humans and AI work closely together, bonding stronger than ever before.

By Prince Mathew