NASA Trials AI Medical Imaging Aboard ISS to Reduce Reliance on Ground Support

European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Christer Fuglesang conducts an extravehicular activity session outside the ISS. Credit: NASA/Bryan Allen/Getty Images

Astronauts aboard the International Space Station have tested a pair of new technologies to enhance in-orbit medical capabilities and reduce reliance on ground support. The astronauts used augmented reality to guide them through an ultrasound scan of their organs, and then had artificial intelligence effectively identify the organs. This is the first taste of astronaut AI use to improve astronaut access to fast-response medical capabilities as they travel further from Earth.

NASA is preparing the Expedition 74 crew for a spacewalk this week to reroute cables on the port side of the ISS's orbital power outputs for a new solar array. The spacewalk is estimated to take six and a half hours in total, and astronauts are conducting intensive preparations ahead of it to ensure it goes off ...