Is There Life on Mars? NASA’s AI Rovers Might Soon Tell Us

Artificial intelligence is helping scientists to identify minerals within rocks studied by the Perseverance rover.

NASA’s Perseverance rover on Mars employs advanced AI technologies, such as adaptive sampling with the PIXL instrument, to autonomously analyze rock compositions in search of potential signs of ancient microbial life. This represents a significant step towards smarter space missions that can make real-time decisions without human intervention.

Smart Spacecraft and AI in Space Exploration
Some scientists dream of exploring planets with “smart” spacecraft that know exactly what data to look for, where to find it, and how to analyze it. Although making that dream a reality will take time, advances made with NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover offer promising steps in that direction.