NASA employs artificial intelligence to create technology that is "three times more eficient

NASA's AI-based hardware will help to reduce both the time and cost associated with space exploration.

In order to create its mission hardware, NASA has begun using artificial intelligence. The results, according to NASA, are components that are two-thirds lighter and much stronger than their human-designed equivalents. The research engineer Ryan McClelland-developed Evolved Structures method uses a generative algorithm to produce metal brackets and mounts for various space exploration missions in a fraction of the time required by NASA's experienced designers.

The technique has so far been utilised to create everything from a scaffold for NASA's EXCITE telescope mounted on a balloon to an optical bench for an ultraviolet imaging spectrometer to store its optical components. The system still depends on human input in the form of a detailed brief outlining the needs for the part, including the load it has to carry and the pressures it will be exposed to, much like the ChatGPT chatbot or the image generator DALL-E.

Humans may iterate once every two weeks or more if things are going well. The pace of the AI will be around one iteration per minute. As a result, you get a lot more iteration cycles, and as a result, you simply get more optimal designs much, much faster. When developing structural components, electronics, and other subsystems for NASA's instruments and spacecraft, this will become standard procedure. In turn, this would aid in cutting the time and expense involved in space exploration.