The Future of Space: Can AI Robots Replace Human Astronauts?

On Christmas Eve, an autonomous spacecraft flew past the Sun, closer than any man-made object has ever been. While orbiting, NASA’s Parker Solar Probe was on a mission to discover more about the Sun, including how it affects space weather on Earth.

It was a historic moment for humanity – but one in which no humans were directly involved, as the spacecraft performed its own predetermined tasks as it passed the Sun, with the Earth at all. There was no contact.

Robotic probes have been sent into the solar system for the past six decades, reaching destinations impossible for humans. During his 10-day flybyThe Parker Solar Probe tested temperatures of 1000C.

But the success of these autonomous spacecraft — along with the rise of new advanced artificial intelligence — raises questions about what role humans might play in future space exploration.

Some scientists question whether human astronauts will be needed at all.

“Robots are developing rapidly, and the case for sending humans is getting weaker all the time,” says Lord Martin Rees, Britain’s Astronomer Royal. “I don’t think any taxpayer money should be used to send humans into space.”

He also points to the danger to humans.

“The only case of sending humans [there] It is meant as an adventure, an experience for rich people, and should be privately financed,” he argues.

Physicist Andrew Coates of University College London agrees. “For serious space exploration, I much prefer robotics,” he says. “[They] Go further and do more.”

They say they are cheaper than humans. “And as AI advances, robots can get smarter and smarter.”

But what does this mean for future generations of budding astronauts – and of course there are some tasks that humans can do in space that robots, no matter how advanced, never can?

Robotic spacecraft have visited every planet in the solar system, as well as many asteroids and comets, but humans have been to only two destinations: Earth’s orbit and the Moon.

In all, about 700 people have gone into space since early 1961, when Yuri Gagarin of the then Soviet Union became the first space explorer. Most of them have gone into orbit (circling the Earth) or into sub-orbit (short vertical hops in space lasting a few minutes on vehicles such as US company Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket).

“Prestige will always be a reason we have humans in space,” says Dr. Kelly Wennersmith, a biologist at Rice University, Texas, and co-author of A City on Mars. “It seems to be agreed upon as a great way to show that your political system is efficient and your people are wonderful.”

But beyond a natural desire to explore, or a sense of dignity, humans also conduct research and experiments in Earth orbit, such as on the International Space Station, and use them to advance science.

Robots can contribute to this scientific research, with the ability to travel to places inaccessible to humans, where they can use instruments to study and examine environments and surfaces.

“Humans are more versatile and we can do things faster than robots, but keeping us alive in space is really difficult and expensive,” says Dr. Wennersmith.

In her 2024 Booker Prize-winning novel Orbital, author Samantha Harvey puts it further: “A robot needs no hydration, no nutrients, no excretion, no sleep… it wants and asks for nothing.”

But there are downsides. Many robots are slow and methodical – on Mars, for example, rovers (remote-controlled motor vehicles) move at a speed of barely 0.1 mph.

“AI can beat humans at chess, but does that mean it can beat humans at environmental exploration?” asks Dr Ian Crawford, a planetary scientist at the University of London. “I don’t think we know.”

However, he believes AI algorithms can enable rovers to become “more efficient”.

Technology can play a role in complementing human spaceflight by freeing astronauts from certain tasks so they can focus on more important research.

“[AI could be used to] “Automate tedious tasks,” says Dr Kerry Wagstaff, a computer and planetary scientist in the US who previously worked at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California.

The challenge is that it takes a lot of power to run systems like Large Language Models (LLM), which can understand and reproduce human language by processing vast amounts of textual data. “We are not able to run an LLM on a Mars rover,” says Dr Wagstaff.

“The rovers’ processors run at about a tenth of that. [of the speed] that’s in your smartphone” – meaning they’re unable to cope with the intense demands of running an LLM.

Complex humanoid machines with robotic arms and limbs are another form of technology that can perform basic tasks and functions in space, especially when they more closely mimic the physical capabilities of humans.

NASA’s Valkyrie robot was built by the Johnson Space Center to participate in the 2013 Robotics Challenge trial. Weighing 300lb and standing at 6ft2in, it doesn’t look unlike a Star Wars stormtrooper, but it’s one of a growing number of humanoid machines with superhuman abilities.

Long before Valkyrie was created, NASA’s Robonaut was the first humanoid robot designed to be used in space, taking on tasks that would otherwise have been performed by humans.

Its specially designed hands meant it could use the same tools as astronauts and perform complex, delicate tasks such as grasping objects or flicking switches, which were difficult for other robotic systems. .

A later model of Robonaut was sent to the International Space Station aboard the space shuttle Discovery in 2011, where it assisted with maintenance and assembly.

“If we need to replace a component or clean a solar panel, we can do it robotically,” says Dr. Sean Azimi, lead robotics expert at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Texas. “We see robots as a way to secure these habitats when humans aren’t around.”

He argues that robots can be useful, not to replace human searchers, but to work alongside them.

Some robots are already operating on other planets without humans, sometimes even making decisions themselves. An example is NASA’s Curiosity rover. discovery A region on Mars called Gale Crater and autonomously conducts some of its science without human input.

“You can direct the rover to take pictures of a scene, look for rocks that match the science priorities for the mission, and then autonomously fire a laser at that target,” says Dr. Wagstaff. can do,” says Dr. Wagstaff.

“It can read a particular rock and send it back to Earth while humans are still asleep.”

But the capabilities of rovers like Curiosity are limited by their slow speeds. And there’s something else they can’t resist. That is, humans have the added bonus of influencing people on Earth that machines cannot.

“Inspiration is something that is intangible,” says Professor Coates.

Leroy Chiao, a retired NASA astronaut who flew three flights aboard NASA’s space shuttle and the International Space Station in the 1990s and 2000s. “Humans relate when humans are doing something.

“The general public is excited about robotic missions. But I would expect the first man on Mars to be even bigger than the first man on the moon.”

Humans have not traveled beyond Earth’s orbit since December 1972, when the last Apollo mission visited the moon. NASA hopes to return humans there this decade with its Artemis program.

gave Next crew mission 2026 will see four astronauts flying around the moon. Another mission, scheduled for 2027, will see NASA astronauts land on the lunar surface.

Meanwhile, the Chinese space agency also wants to send astronauts to the moon.

Elon Musk, the CEO of the American company SpaceX, has his own plans for space. He has said that his long-term plan is to build a colony on Mars, where humans can live The land.

His idea is to use the Starship, a huge new vehicle his company is developing, to carry up to 100 people at a time, who are meant to be there. A million people on Mars in 20 years.

“Musk is arguing that we need to go to Mars because it can be a backup for humanity if something catastrophic happens on Earth,” explains Dr. Wennersmith. “If you buy that argument, then sending humans into space is important.”

However, there are huge unknowns about living on Mars, including numerous technical challenges that remain unsolved, he said.

“Maybe the kids can’t thrive in that environment,” she says. “There [are] Ethical questions [like this] We don’t have an answer.

“I think we should slow down.”

Lord Rhys has a vision of his own, though, in which human and robotic exploration can merge to the point where humans themselves are part machines for dealing with extreme environments. “I can imagine they will use all the techniques of genetic modification, cyborg add-ons, etc. to deal with a very hostile environment,” he says.

“We may have a new species that would be happy to live on Mars.”

Until then, however, humans are likely to continue their small steps into space, following a path trodden by robotic explorers before them.

Top image credit: NASA

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