AI to be Deployed in Earth Orbit to Analyze Performance in 2025

Mission Control is a Canadian space software company and Spire is a United States satellite company. The two companies have to together to work on how AI will be deployed on space and perform some tasks there.

According to Mission Control CTO Michele Faragalli cited that LLMs is difficult to employ in space. He explained that everything is more difficult in space, and learning software is no exception. But the pressure to push AI into everything can’t be denied.

However, to make artificial intelligence possible in space, Spire and Mission Control are working on a demo mission set to launch in 2025. The demo mission will see a Spire-built Earth observation (EO) satellite utilizing Mission Control’s machine learning models to conduct analyses directly in orbit.

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Earth observation (EO) satellite

How will Mission Control implement AI in Space?

According to the interview had with Mission Control CTO Michele Faragalli, the space software company plans to implement AI in space by developing specialized machine learning models that can operate on low-power hardware, like those found on CubeSats and lunar rovers.

These models will enable spacecraft to process data onboard, which is critical due to the high latency and limited bandwidth of space communication.

Meanwhile, by building machine learning operations (MLOps) pipelines, the company said it can send over-the-air updates to retrain and adapt these models as mission conditions change, ensuring that the AI remains effective even in the unpredictable environment of space.

However, a major challenge is that artificial intelligence in space lacks certification standards, making space agencies cautious about relying on it for critical missions.

Since deep learning models provide statistical outcomes with some level of uncertainty, it’s difficult to predict when they might fail.

Mission Control objective is to overcome this by developing systems that monitor and update AI models in real-time, which will help to build trust in these aspects technology and allows them to play a larger role in future space missions.

Mission Control History in Deploying Deep-Learning Algorithm in Earth Orbit

Mission Control was founded in the year 2015. Till date, the company’s main objective is to develop software for autonomous space operations.

Notably, Mission Control was among the first space software companies to deploy a deep-learning algorithm in Earth orbit, and the first to do so in lunar orbit during ispace’s first attempt to land on the Moon.

So, Mission Control is not just implementing Machine Learning on solar system. Now, to make AI fully functioning in space, the company’s machine learning models will see a Spire-built Earth observation (EO) satellite to embark on a demo mission, aimed at deploying AI into earth orbit.