The moon is about to usher in a giant leap forward in artificial intelligence (AI).
Canada’s machine learning system will enter moon’Surfaced on rover in United Arab Emirates SpaceX December 11th.
The Rashid rover aboard Japan’s ispace lander is expected to touch this spring Look for minerals and other items of interest on the lunar surface.Canada’s system will inform a major AI first: No AI is too low Earth before the track, company officials said.
Ewan Reid, CEO of Mission Control Space Services (MCSS), told Space.com that the technology, if feasible, could play a major role in NASA’s plans to land on the moon. “AI will be a critical support tool for decision-making onboard spacecraft,” Reed said.This work doesn’t just extend to finding water on the Moon, NASA plans to do it with it artemis mission, while also making Earth observation more efficient. MCSS is a company with only 40 employees so far, and its goal is to become a dominant player.
related: Canadian astronauts will begin flying to the moon in 2023 on NASA’s Artemis mission
When most people think of Canadian space technology, they think of flashy projects such as canada arm: A series of robotic arms serving the space shuttle, International Space Station Soon, NASA’s gateway lunar station.Sharper observers can also cite space medicine even rocket technology As Canada has expertise in the field of technology.
However, MCSS represents what many small Canadian aerospace companies do: provide the essential software, or components, that fly in the background to fuel missions around the world. The company doesn’t publicize all of its work; MCSS clients often want media attention on their own missions, Reid said.
“That’s why the [AI] The presentation with the Canadian Space Agency was good because it’s very important in the public domain and we can talk about it,” Reid said.
If all goes according to plan, Rashid will be on the ground for about one lunar day (29 Earth days). It’s not expected to last until lunar night, but it will be fine as a demonstration mission for the MCSS. It plans to make the most of the precious few days spent on the moon.
related: Lunar Timeline: Human Exploration of the Moon
The MCSS will receive the Rashid rover’s navigation images via the Japanese lander, which will handle communications with Earth.Using the Canadian company’s algorithm, “every pixel in an image [will be] categorized as a certain terrain type,” Reid said.
“The output will then be sent to the surface for use by scientists and engineers in our Ottawa office, as well as other universities in Canada, to help decide where the rover should go,” he added. Once the engineers are confident that the AI knows how to distinguish different minerals, And distinguishing mission-critical items like rocks and craters, future missions will take humans “out of the loop.”
On the moon, Reid said, AI could save a lot of limited satellite bandwidth because it would only share the data, images and videos scientists need. The technique could be repurposed across the solar system for applications such as detecting “dark” ships on Earth trying to sail without registration, or filtering clouds from planetary images.
“We see a huge opportunity to deploy AI at the edge of space,” Reid said. If all goes according to plan, the lunar demonstration will allow MCSS to “support other companies and organizations in deploying artificial intelligence on future missions.”
Follow Elizabeth Howell on Twitter @ Howell Space (opens in a new tab). follow us @Spacedotcom (opens in a new tab)or in Facebook (opens in a new tab) and instagram (opens in a new tab).