It Was Inevitable – NASA Names First Chief AI Officer

Posted on by onespaceman2000

David Salvagnini, currently NASA’s chief data officer, will now also hold the title of Chief Artificial Intelligence (AI) Officer. It seems to be the trend these days as AI infiltrates organizations.

With regards to the new position, NASA noted:

This appointment is in accordance with President Biden’s Executive Order on the Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence. Salvagnini now is responsible for aligning the strategic vision and planning for AI usage across NASA. He serves as a champion for AI innovation, supporting the development and risk management of tools, platforms, and training.

How important is AI to the future of the space industry? I asked deepai.org/chat and got back this self-important reply:

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is playing a crucial role in the space industry, transforming various aspects of space exploration, development, and operations. Here are some key areas where AI is making a significant impact:

  • Spacecraft Operations: AI algorithms are used to monitor and control spacecraft systems, enabling autonomous decision-making and reducing the need for human intervention. This improves the efficiency and reliability of spacecraft operations.
  • Data Analysis: AI-powered data analysis tools are used to process vast amounts of data collected from space missions, such as satellite imagery, astronomical observations, and sensor data. This enables scientists to identify patterns, detect anomalies, and make more informed decisions.
  • Robotics and Automation: AI is being used to develop more advanced robotic systems for space missions, such as autonomous robots for planetary exploration and satellite maintenance. This reduces the risk of human error and increases the efficiency of operations.
  • Predictive Maintenance: AI-powered predictive maintenance tools are used to detect potential issues in spacecraft systems, enabling proactive maintenance and reducing the risk of equipment failure.
  • Space Weather Forecasting: AI models are used to predict space weather events, such as solar flares and coronal mass ejections, which can impact satellite communications and navigation systems.
  • Exoplanet Hunting: AI-powered algorithms are used to analyze data from exoplanet-hunting missions, such as NASA’s Kepler space telescope, to identify potential exoplanet candidates.
  • Astronomical Research: AI is used to analyze large datasets from astronomical observations, such as galaxy distributions, star formation rates, and dark matter detection.
  • Space Traffic Management: AI-powered systems are being developed to manage space traffic, ensuring safe and efficient operations in low-Earth orbit.
  • Cybersecurity: AI-powered cybersecurity tools are used to detect and prevent cyber threats in space systems, protecting sensitive data and ensuring mission continuity.
  • Mission Planning: AI algorithms are used to optimize mission planning, taking into account factors such as propulsion systems, communication networks, and terrain analysis.

If this is true, then Mr. Salvagnini will be a very busy man.

Space Stories: Robot Trains on the Moon, Commercial Space Stations, and Russian Lunar Reactors

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): Artist’s rendering of the Flexible Levitation on a Track system on the lunar surface with planet Earth on the horizon. (NASA/Ethan Schaler)

Here are some recent stories of interest.

—NDTV: “NASA Announces Plans To Build First Railway System On Moon“

As the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) readies to return astronauts to the moon, it has announced its plans to build a levitating robot train on the lunar surface. In a blog post, the American space agency provided details about the project called “Flexible Levitation on a Track (FLOAT)”, which aims to provide a “robotic transport system” to support future lunar activities of astronauts visiting the moon. The transport system will be critical to the daily operation of a sustainable lunar base in the 2030s, NASA said in a statement. 

—IEEE Spectrum: “Commercial Space Stations Approach Launch Phase“

A changing of the guard in space stations is on the horizon as private companies work toward providing new opportunities for science, commerce, and tourism in outer space. Blue Origin is one of a number of private-sector actors aiming to harbor commercial activities in low Earth orbit (LEO) as the creaking and leaking International Space Station (ISS) approaches its drawdown. Partners in Blue Origin’s Orbital Reef program, including firms Redwire, Sierra Space, and Boeing, are each reporting progress in their respective components of the program. The collaboration itself may not be on such strong ground. Such endeavors may also end up slowed and controlled by regulation so far absent from many new, commercial areas of space.

—Newsweek: “Russia Reveals New China Nuclear Moon Base Details“

Details about joint plans between Moscow and Beijing to put a lunar nuclear reactor within the next decade have been revealed by the head of Russia’s space agency. In March, Roscosmos announced plans to work with China to build an automated nuclear reactor to power a proposed lunar base that the two countries would operate together within the next decade. To construct the site, Roscosmos director general Yury Borisov said two months ago it was looking at using nuclear-powered rockets to transfer cargo to the moon, but had not yet figured out how to build these spacecraft safely. In an article published Wednesday by state news outlet RIA Novosti, Borisov said that development of the plant was underway and the countries were working on creating experimental and research facilities as part of the project.

Space Quote: Congressional Appeal for More NASA Funding

Posted on by onespaceman2000

“An improved appropriation for FY 2025 of $9 billion for SMD will give the agency the necessary resources to pursue Decadal priorities such as the Earth System Observatory, Geophysical Dynamics Constellation, Habitable Worlds Observatory, and Mars Sample Return, while maintaining our nation’s highly-skilled workforce and fleet of operating and developing spacecraft including the Chandra X-Ray Observatory, Hubble Space Telescope, Perseverance and Curiosity rovers, among others. These investments in our high-tech STEM workforce and university systems will provide positive value to every congressional district.”

-Statement in a May 1, 2024 letter to the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies from 44 Members of Congress regarding increased funding to NASA related to its Science Mission Directorate (SMD). The letter notes that “…the FY 2025 President’s Budget Request of $7.6 billion for NASA Science represents a $1.1 billion decrease in purchasing power from its peak in FY 2020 and would be the smallest budget in eight years when adjusted for inflation.”

Pic of the Week: Little Dumbbell Nebula

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): The Little Dumbell Nebula as captured by the Hubble Space Telescope. (NASA, ESA, STScI)

This week’s image comes from the NASA/European Space Agency’s Hubble Space Telescope. It shows what is called the Little Dumbbell Nebula, more formally called  Messier 76, M76, or NGC 650/651, which is about 3,400 light-years away. The image is being shared as part of the celebration of Hubble’s 34th anniversary, which is discussed in this video.

Here is more on the nebula from NASA:

M76 is classified as a planetary nebula, an expanding shell of glowing gases that were ejected from a dying red giant star. The star eventually collapses to an ultra-dense and hot white dwarf. A planetary nebula is unrelated to planets, but have that name because astronomers in the 1700s using low-power telescopes thought this type of object resembled a planet.

M76 is composed of a ring, seen edge-on as the central bar structure, and two lobes on either opening of the ring. Before the star burned out, it ejected the ring of gas and dust. The ring was probably sculpted by the effects of the star that once had a binary companion star. This sloughed off material created a thick disk of dust and gas along the plane of the companion’s orbit. The hypothetical companion star isn’t seen in the Hubble image, and so it could have been later swallowed by the central star. The disk would be forensic evidence for that stellar cannibalism.

The primary star is collapsing to form a white dwarf. It is one of the hottest stellar remnants known at a scorching 250,000 degrees Fahrenheit, 24 times our Sun’s surface temperature. 
The sizzling white dwarf can be seen as a pinpoint in the center of the nebula. A star visible in projection beneath it is not part of the nebula.



Pinched off by the disk, two lobes of hot gas are escaping from the top and bottom of the “belt,” along the star’s rotation axis that is perpendicular to the disk. They are being propelled by the hurricane-like outflow of material from the dying star, tearing across space at two million miles per hour. That’s fast enough to travel from Earth to the Moon in a little over seven minutes! This torrential “stellar wind” is plowing into cooler, slower-moving gas that was ejected at an earlier stage in the star’s life, when it was a red giant. Ferocious ultraviolet radiation from the super-hot star is causing the gases to glow. The red color is from nitrogen, and blue is from oxygen.


Given our solar system is 4.6 billion years old, the entire nebula is a flash in the pan by cosmological timekeeping. It will vanish in about 15,000 years.

TESS is Back Online

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As of May 3, NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) was functioning again after flipping into safe mode back on April 23.

NASA shared this info regarding the shutdown:

The operations team determined this latest safe mode was triggered by a failure to properly unload momentum from the spacecraft’s reaction wheels, a routine activity needed to keep the satellite properly oriented when making observations. The propulsion system, which enables this momentum transfer, had not been successfully repressurized following a prior safe mode event April 8. The team has corrected this, allowing the mission to return to normal science operations. The cause of the April 8 safe mode event remains under investigation.

TESS is currently on an extended mission after accomplishing it primary two-year mission that located 66 confirmed exoplanets and 2,100 exoplanet candidates. Click here for a story about exoplanet HD 21749c, the first Earth-sized exoplanet discovered by TESS.

Based on NASA’s latest information, TESS has already located 440 confirmed exoplanets and 7,147 exoplanet candidates. And now that its back online, the search can continue.