By now, you may have heard about the two astronauts stranded on the International Space Station (ISS) due to a malfunction in Boeing’s spacecraft. In this article, let’s explore this situation from an AI perspective and see how emerging Artificial Intelligence technologies or tools could assist humanity in such critical scenarios.

Problem 1: Helium Leaks in the Spacecraft

The spacecraft in question has experienced several helium leaks. While helium is non-flammable and might make your voice sound funny if inhaled, in large quantities, it can deprive the body of oxygen, posing serious health risks to the astronauts.

AI Solution: If this were a Hollywood movie, an astronaut would likely remember an old, non-functional carbon dioxide (CO2) filter lying around on the ISS. They’d repair it, turn it into a makeshift helium purifier, and save the day—all with some intense background music. But in real life, we could leverage AI more practically. By providing an AI system with an inventory list of all items on the ISS, we could ask it to devise a plan to use onboard materials to safely remove or contain the helium gas.

Given that helium is a noble gas, it doesn’t chemically react with other substances, limiting us to mechanical solutions. The AI could analyze the spacecraft’s design, locate the helium leak using properly functioning sensors, and either seal the affected areas or redirect valves to stop and contain the leak.

Fortunately, we haven’t heard reports of the astronauts getting sick from helium inhalation, which suggests that NASA has managed to contain the leaks, possibly with or without AI’s help—a positive point for NASA.

Problem 2: Thruster Failures

The spacecraft’s thrusters, which are crucial for controlling its movement, have also malfunctioned. This is like trying to steer a high-speed race car without a steering wheel or brakes, but in space, the stakes are much higher.

AI Solution: We already have supercomputers and AI. If NASA plans to return the astronauts in the same spacecraft, AI could simulate the spacecraft’s parameters and come up with an exact plan for which functioning thruster needs to fire at precisely which microsecond to bring the ship back to Earth safely.

The challenge lies in providing the correct input parameters. Ideal values might not match practical values, and pre-flight specifications might differ from those in-flight. What if a new thruster fails? What if another leak occurs? What if previous leaks have damaged an unnoticed component? With so many unknown variables, even the best minds might struggle to calculate all possible scenarios. Although AI could theoretically compute these possibilities, the millions (if not infinite) of potential scenarios could exceed our current technological capabilities.

NASA seems to agree, as they are not planning to use the Boeing spacecraft for the astronauts’ return trip.

Problem 3: The Need for Quick, Feasible Solutions

NASA has other potential solutions, but they either aren’t quick enough or aren’t feasible. The key challenge here is finding a solution that is both quick and feasible, as the best available option might still be eight months away.

AI Solution:

1. Using the SpaceX Spacecraft: Some of you might already know that these two astronauts are currently not the sole occupants of the ISS. There’s another team of astronauts who arrived via a SpaceX spacecraft. AI could help plan how to accommodate both teams on the SpaceX spacecraft for the return trip. While this isn’t currently feasible due to concerns about weight distribution and other factors, AI could be trained to add redundancy in spaceship capacity and devise alternate travel plans and distribution strategies on an ad hoc basis, making space travel more like hitchhiking.
2. Negotiating with Russia: Another potential solution involves using a Russian spacecraft to bring the astronauts back to Earth. However, due to ongoing geopolitical tensions, this option seems unlikely. AI could serve as a neutral negotiator or arbitrator between the involved parties, potentially facilitating a deal for the spacecraft transfer or even contributing to broader peace efforts. Although this sounds naive and idealistic, and it could raise concerns about AI dominating humanity as in science fiction movies, it’s worth considering as a research avenue. With the right parameters, a bias-free AI might be a more effective negotiator than current politicians and bureaucrats.

Prevention: How Did We Get Here?

A spacecraft that carries people to space—a place where even a minor error can have deadly consequences—should have been thoroughly designed, built, and tested, right? I believe the engineers who worked on this spacecraft are far more qualified than I am to build a spaceship, so I won’t criticize them. However, it’s clear that we can’t have it all: the cheapest, best-performing spacecraft built in the shortest time frame is simply not practical. There’s always a trade-off between cost, performance, and stability. So if NASA wants a cheaper option or Boeing wants to build faster to keep up with competition then they will come at the expense of performance and stability of the spaceship. It is of critical importance to maintain a balance of these aspects.

In the future, AI could play a critical role in auditing, inspecting, and simulating tests for all spacecraft, ensuring better balance and safety.

Conclusion

AI can support humans in both resolving immediate issues, like bringing astronauts back to Earth, and preventing disasters in future missions. From providing innovative solutions in emergencies to enhancing the design and testing of spacecraft, AI has the potential to expand our capabilities where human reach is limited or too time-consuming. Let’s hope the astronauts return home safely, and until next time, stay curious about the possibilities of AI in space exploration.

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