How Google and NASA are testing AI for medical care in space

As NASA embarks on a new era of human spaceflight, beginning with the Artemis campaign's aim to return to the Moon, preparations are underway to ensure crew health and wellness. This includes exploring whether remote care capabilities can deliver detailed diagnoses and treatment options if a physician is not onboard or if real-time communication with Earth is limited. Supporting crew health through space-based medical care is becoming increasingly important as NASA missions venture deeper into space.

To address this challenge, Google and NASA collaborated on an innovative proof-of-concept for an automated Clinical Decision Support System (CDSS) known as the "Crew Medical Officer Digital Assistant" (CMO-DA). Designed to assist astronauts with medical help during extended space missions, this multi-modal interface leverages AI. The goal is to potentially support human exploration of the Moon, Mars, and beyond.

The CMO-DA tool could help astronauts autonomously diagnose and treat symptoms when crews are ...