Mikkel

With thousands of satellites orbiting Earth, no human team could process all the data.

AI makes sense of it in real time, turning raw images into usable insights.

And this ties back to our earlier episode on the environment.

Space-based AI is a crucial tool in fighting climate change.

Earth observation from orbit gives us a global perspective we can't get from the ground.

Now let's talk about robots.

Space agencies are building robotic arms, construction bots, and mining rovers that use AI to operate independently.

Tick for this.

Astronauts arrive on Mars and their base is already waiting for them, built by AI-driven robots that landed years earlier.

Of course, that brings up questions of ownership.

Who owns resources mined by AI robots in space?

The company, the country, or all of humanity?

For deep space missions, say a trip to Europa or a multi-year voyage to Mars, these systems aren't just helpful, they're basically essential for survival.

But now let's talk about the tough questions.

Should AI make life or death decisions in space?

If an emergency hits, do we trust AI to actually decide who or what to save?

There's also the issue of militarization.

AI and satellites or space drones could escalate tensions between nations.

Space might not even stay peaceful forever.

Some argue that it doesn't matter.