Can AI Get Humans to Mars?

Mars colonization has been a hot topic recently, and not only within the pages of sci-fi novels. Some researchers imagine humans could continue to exist the Red Planet someday. Many assert that artificial intelligence will likely be instrumental in reaching that exciting — albeit lofty — goal. What are among the biggest challenges in getting humans to the planet and helping them live there? How will AI help? 

The Obstacles Stopping Mars Colonization

Life on Mars is an interesting prospect. Humans have yet to go to the Red Planet, though NASA hopes to send astronauts there by the 2030s. Getting people to such a destination — particularly in the event that they aren’t spaceflight professionals — will likely be quite a feat. What’s stopping us from achieving it now? 

Transportation Barriers

Many individuals take long flights on planes, however the longest are still lower than a full day. Plus, lengthy industrial flights have Wi-Fi, streaming content and snacks to make the journey more enjoyable. 

The sheer distance is arguably one of the crucial difficult aspects in attending to Mars. The trip between Earth and Mars is the shortest when each planets are on the identical side of the sun. Even then, the journey is greater than 34 million miles and will only occur every two years. Various groups are working on making the trip occur as efficiently as possible, and their estimates suggest it will take 6-9 months. 

Fortunately, humans have been desirous about attending to Mars for some time, so it is a regularly studied area. Researchers could apply AI to research academic papers to see which methods are most frequently mentioned and appear most feasible. Such efforts could shorten the time required to discover promising options and invest time and other resources in them. 

Sustenance

If humans reach Mars, will they’ve enough food and water to survive there? Researchers are eagerly learning all they will to reply that all-important query. AI could play a vital role in sourcing what people must continue to exist the planet. 

Some Mars rovers have AI features that further scientific exploration, expanding what we all know in regards to the planet. For instance, some capabilities allow it to discover and investigate geological features without ongoing human input. Such actions could help the rovers find water sources and report the small print to people on Earth. Artificial intelligence also helps the rovers move along the terrain, making research more productive. 

Participants at five Australian universities are also examining easy methods to provide reliable food sources for humans going to or living on Mars. So-called farmbots are central to the project. These innovations are robots that grow leafy greens for people to eat in space. Algorithms also analyze people’s facial expressions and physiological responses to the foods. Individually, the researchers have created a digital twin that measures various suitability points related to the consumables.

Potential for Serious Harm

Ongoing research also suggests trips to Mars may very well be dangerous for many who try them. Space radiation is considered one of the largest threats, but there are also broader risks posed by how different someone’s experience on the Red Planet could be from life on Earth.

For instance, Mars has a relatively smaller mass, so its gravitational pull is lower than Earth’s. Scientists have recently discovered how that detail could affect people. They scanned the brains of 30 astronauts before and after they went to space. The findings indicated time away from Earth expanded their ventricles — the fluid-filled cavities that protect, nourish and take away waste from the brain. 

Moreover, the research suggested the expansion was significant in those that accomplished missions lasting greater than six months. Although the ventricles contracted once the astronauts returned to Earth, they needed to take three-year breaks between flights for full recoveries. 

One other study examined how microgravity — which makes people appear weightless — could affect people, who would experience several months of it traveling to and from Mars. A gaggle simulated microgravity’s effects by having participants spend 60 days in bed at a selected angle. The outcomes indicated this experiment affected 91% of subjects’ gene expression, impacting every part from muscle function to the immune system.  

Nonetheless, through avenues resembling algorithms and simulations, artificial intelligence could help scientists pinpoint and reduce the most probably detrimental health effects, addressing those matters while minimizing adversarial situations for people. 

How Has AI Furthered Mars Exploration? 

Getting humans to the red planet won’t be easy, but artificial intelligence has already enabled some promising breakthroughs. 

On the lookout for Signs of Life

Many individuals understandably think that among the best ways to find out if Mars is secure for habitation is to study what has already survived there. Scientists could then use that compiled data to find out how feasible it’s for humans to go to the red planet.

One team developed an AI system that’s about 90% accurate in determining whether samples originated from living things. The technology works by identifying slight differences in molecular patterns. 

Although the group has applied their innovation to make use of cases beyond exploring the red planet, this application could help researchers estimate the possibilities of living organisms surviving on Mars. Such conclusions would answer vital questions on human safety, the viability of growing crops on the planet and other essentials. 

Showing Which Areas Support Life

Once people learn what can survive on Mars, they need to also determine which areas support that end result. Artificial intelligence could answer that query, too. A University of Oxford group collaborated with scientists from elsewhere to make use of artificial intelligence and machine learning to search out areas most able to sustaining life.

The group tested their approach in a South American desert, using aerial images from drones because the source material. It was 87.5% successful to find indicators of life, in comparison with random searches that achieved that result lower than 10% of the time. The researchers imagine they may apply this solution to assist Mars rovers find the areas most able to sustaining life. Eventually, they need to create a database of indicators of life and habitability, using those to plan or expand missions. 

Expanding What Humans Know 

Rovers have moved around Mars and fed data back to researchers on Earth, but what else should occur before humans land on the planet? NASA teams are testing a six-foot-tall robot they imagine will perform most of the same tasks people can in space. 

Those training this humanoid creation hope the bot will perform repairs during space missions. If all goes well scientists could use the robot to collect data beyond what rovers have provided. The more they know in regards to the red planet before sending humans there, the safer and more productive it’s going to be for everybody involved. Indeed, putting a humanoid robot on Mars is nowhere near the identical as an individual taking a visit there. But, hopefully, this one will increase learning enough to scale back the surprises related to attending to that time. 

Finding Accessible Oxygen Sources

Mars has oxygen, but not enough for humans to survive by respiration. A big research query, then, pertains to how people could source the gas during their time on the red planet. 

A Chinese research group can have found solutions through the use of AI. Scientists have pondered the viability of using oxygen evolution response (OER) catalysts to create the gas through electrochemical water oxidation. This team applied artificial intelligence to chemistry to search out essentially the most effective ways to make the OER catalysts with materials on Mars reasonably than needing to move them from Earth. The technology analyzes 30,000 possibilities before making its conclusions. 

There remains to be quite a lot of work to do before researchers uncover essentially the most suitable ways to offer oxygen to people on Mars missions. Nonetheless, this achievement is a step in the correct direction. 

AI Can Support Our Mars Aspirations 

Although people is not going to reach the red planet inside the following few years, scientists are making impressive progress, learning the necessities of getting there and having as secure an experience as possible. Artificial intelligence will proceed assisting researchers in work that can shape space exploration.