Soon, research in the ISS laboratory will improve through AI from Meta.
Meta is collaborating with American government contractor Booz Allen on an AI system for the International Space Station. This system runs on Meta’s Llama 3.2 language model series and is intended to support scientific projects aboard the space station.
Space Llama
Space Llama, four open-source models with 1 to 90 parameters, runs on the Spaceborne Computer-2, a system developed by HP and NASA. It combines HPE servers with Nvidia graphics cards and 130 terabytes of flash memory. The AI is designed to work independently. It also functions with a poor internet connection and can process data from technical documents and multimodal files.
The ISS uses that lab to research systems such as 3D printers, robots, and sensors. Due to microgravity, unique materials can be created that could, for example, serve in the pharmaceutical industry. Additionally, all data from the Earth observation instruments attached to the ISS is processed.
Transforming Research Processes
Meta sees this as “a crucial step for the exploration of the moon and Mars, the development of modern satellite and drone capabilities, and the next generation of autonomous systems”. This can be read in a blog post. “AI that is powerful enough to work in space, the most extreme environment imaginable, will bring about technological transformations on Earth.”
This technology further strengthens the US’s share in AI. The self-proclaimed AI leader recently criticized Europe, stating that it “just needs to fall in line” and is “strongly dependent on other countries”.
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