“I’m feeling a mix of excitement and nerves” – that’s how the AI replied when I asked how it felt minutes before the rocket launch.
The reply came from the Hera Space Companion, an AI-powered assistant that was developed to “communicate” with the spacecraft of the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Hera mission.
Launched in October and due to last several years, the Hera mission is part of a planetary defence project designed to assess whether Earth can be protected from a catastrophic asteroid impact.
“The ambition is to allow everyone to get closer to this mission and access information in a totally new way,” says Ian Carnelli, ESA’s head of mission.
“For the first time, we have connected data from the spacecraft directly to Microsoft Azure. This allows users to actively engage with the spacecraft, follow discoveries in near real-time, and gain a unique behind-the-scenes look at the space mission,” explains Georg Leitgeb, senior account technology strategist at Microsoft.
Sky News was given early and exclusive access to the chatbot and the first thing I wanted to try was if the AI could tell me how it felt in space.
The AI gave an immediate and elaborate response pointing to “the vastness and isolation being both daunting and awe-inspiring”, adding then how it feels “like stepping into a grand, uncharted territory”.
“I have always dreamt of being able to communicate with a spacecraft, Star Trek style, yet I had to wait until now for the technology to become ready. Today, we have an experience very close to that,” says Markus Mooslechner, executive producer at Terra Mater Studios, partner of the project.
In my interaction with the AI, I then went on to ask a more technical question about the spacecraft’s current location and the AI replied very precisely, saying: “I’m currently about 19.74 million kilometres away from Earth”. It also shared a graphic of the spacecraft’s trajectory.
The chatbot has a specific “telemetry” section where users can see unique data from ESA and the spacecraft’s sensors like speed and altitude changes.
Hera’s Thermal Infrared Imager instrument captured this image of Earth and the moon from a distance of approximately 1.4 million kilometres. Pic: European Space Agency
“The companion delivers accurate, near real-time information that was previously inaccessible to the general public. Moreover, its advanced understanding of conversational patterns allows it to align with individual users, effectively communicating complex space concepts in an engaging and easily understandable manner,” explains Anna Maria Brunnhofer-Pedemonte, CEO at Impact AI, who helped develop the chatbot.
The developers say a big moment will be in March 2025 when the spacecraft is expected to fly by Mars and the AI companion will be able to share real-time photos of what that looks like from the spacecraft’s cameras.
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Michael Graziano, professor of neuroscience and psychology at Princeton University, explains how the experience of talking to “expert chatbots” like the Hera Space Companion can have a unique impact on people.
“There’s a question out there that many people are asking,” he says. “Are these really sophisticated chatbots conscious?”
He adds: “The data shows that the more sophisticated the chatbot is the more people think it could be conscious, despite no scientific evidence of it.
“And as people think the machine has more of a human-like mind, they report a more positive effect on their own social health.”
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