NASA and Google are developing an AI medical assistant to help astronauts diagnose and treat illnesses independently during long missions beyond Earth.
NASA and Google are collaborating to test an AI-powered medical assistant designed to support astronauts on long-duration missions, where communication delays with Earth make real-time medical consultations impossible.
NASA, which is committed to a new era of human spaceflight with its Artemis program, is working with Google to test a proof of concept for a Crew Medical Officer Digital Assistant (CMO‑DA), a type of Clinical Decision Support System (CDSS).
The digital assistant would provide medical support to astronauts operating beyond low Earth orbit, such as on missions to the moon and Mars. It would allow crews to diagnose and treat symptoms autonomously.
“Trained on spaceflight literature, the AI system uses cutting-edge natural language processing and machine learning techniques to provide real-time analyses of crew health and performance safely,” Google representatives said in an August 08 statement.
According to the statement, early results indicate the possibility of reliable diagnoses based on reported symptoms. NASA and Google are now working with doctors to test and refine the model further.
Deep-space missions, including to the moon or Mars, can involve communication delays — sometimes up to 45 minutes for a light-time round-trip to the Red Planet — making real-time consultations impossible. A speedy return to Earth is obviously not an option in such cases.
An onboard AI assistant could, therefore, help bridge a critical gap. The technology could also be useful in remote and demanding environments on Earth, where access to trained medical professionals is limited.
