AI is no longer restricted to the tech space. It is also making waves in the space and aeronautics industry. Recently, UAE and Canada have joined hands to send a lunar rover with AI capabilities to the moon to receive navigational images, identify geological features of the lunar surface, and get information about potential hazards.
The rover named ‘Rashid’, hosted on the Japanese space lander, was launched on Dec 11 by SpaceX and is expected to touch down this spring and will help scientists conduct various experiments and gather data. If all goes to plan, the rover will work for roughly one lunar day (29 Earth days) on the moon’s surface. The AI technology will allow experts to control and operate the rover and analyze the data it collects. This will be the first time that AI has been used on the moon, making this a historic moment in space exploration.
The ambitious projects include the AI system developed by Canada’s Mission Control Space Services (MCSS). Talking about the initiative, MCSS’s CEO Ewan Reid stated, ‘We see an enormous opportunity for deploying AI in space. If all goes to plan, the lunar demonstration will allow MCSS to support other companies and organizations as they work to deploy AI in their missions in the future.”
The results of this mission will be closely watched by the Canadian and UAE scientific community and could lead to exciting new advancements in the fields of AI and space technology. The collaboration demonstrates the power of international cooperation in exploring the unknown and pushing the boundaries of technology and science.