We Were Promised Aliens. Is AI in Space the Sci-Fi Solution We’ve Been Waiting For?

“Houston, we have a problem.”

“This is Houston. What seems to be the problem?”

“If aliens are out there, AI might be the first thing they meet.”

Science fiction taught us to expect a dramatic first contact. Maybe a war of worlds. And while technology always looked like it was going to be part of the picture, no one could’ve predicted this leap so soon.

We Were Promised Aliens. Is AI in Space the Sci-Fi Solution We’ve Been Waiting For?

AI in Space

While we have yet to determine whether aliens exist, AI in space is moving us closer to answering some of our biggest questions.

About Mars, the origins of life, and whether we’re truly alone.

Unfortunately, these recent discoveries surrounding the use of AI in space have less to do with little green men and more to do with some rocks.

Now, keep your coal. These rocks still matter. And AI is the reason we can study them.

How AI in Space Is Solving a Rocky Situation

Mars isn’t exactly what you would call a smooth or forgiving environment. And while The Martian (2015) was unrealistic about the whole dust storm thing, it doesn’t mean that Mars is any less hostile.

It’s uneven. Unpredictable. All the un words. It’s riddled with obstacles, ones that can end entire missions if navigated incorrectly.

And that’s where AI comes in.

The Power of Perseverance

NASA’s rover, Perseverance, recently crossed a boulder field known as “Snowdrift Peak” more than 1,700 feet wide in about a third of the time it would’ve taken previous rovers.

The secret?

A self-driving system called AutoNav.

What is AutoNav

AutoNav allows Perseverance to take images, process them in real time, and make decisions on the move.

In other words, the rover doesn’t just see obstacles—it reasons through them.

It rolls around thinking things like:

Can I climb this rock?

Will my wheels slip?

Is this path worth the risk?

Unlike earlier rovers, Perseverance has an additional computer dedicated entirely to image processing. That means it doesn’t have to slow down or share computing resources with hundreds of other tasks just to decide where to drive next.

Autonomy Doesn’t Mean Autopilot

As NASA engineer Steve Maimone put it, past rover autonomy often meant moving more slowly.

Now, autonomy is actually speeding things up.

But don’t worry. AI isn’t going to take the astronauts’ jobs. Humans are still very much part of the equation. Engineers plan the general route using orbital images from missions like Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, marking areas to avoid and zones the rover should stay within.

AI is just handling the moment-to-moment decisions when Mars inevitably throws something unexpected into the mix.

AI in Space Decides What Actually Matters on Mars

According to Vandi Verma, chief engineer for robotic operations at JPL, Perseverance is “the perfect example of the old adage ‘two brains are better than one.’”

The Perseverance mission is part of NASA’s broader Moon to Mars initiative, which includes Artemis missions to the Moon that are aiding in preparations for human exploration.

With AI in space, scientists are making significant progress in their discoveries.

The mission is expected to operate until at least 2031.

AI is handling the moment-to-moment decisions, including interstellar diplomacy.

The Hunt for Extraterrestrial Life

Perseverance’s official objective, according to NASA, is to search for signs of microbial life and to find viable rock samples to bring back to Earth.

It is the first mission to collect and cache Martian rock and regolith (i.e., broken rock and dust).

In fact, Perseverance discovered a potential biosignature in 2024 while exploring the “Bright Angel” rock formation on Mars.

The rover found that the formation is composed of clay and silt, which on Earth are considered great preservers of ancient microbial life.

While this finding is not a guarantee of alien life, AI in space is already moving us closer to a potential discovery that could change life as we know it.

What AI in Space Is Not Doing

There are a lot of reasons to be excited, but just to clear the air, here is a list of the things AI in space is not doing:

1. Becoming sentient

There is no self-aware rover pondering its existence on Mars.

AI systems like AutoNav don’t have thoughts, feelings, or ambitions. They don’t “want” to explore space, and they aren’t developing any curiosity for it. Every decision they make is the result of predefined rules and training data.

2. Replacing scientists

AI in space isn’t making discoveries instead of humans; it’s making discoveries possible for humans.

This human-plus-AI dynamic isn’t unique to space exploration. We explored a similar debate in our live discussion comparing a human writer and ChatGPT.

Scientists still decide what questions to ask, what samples matter, and how findings should be implemented. Think of AI in space more as a hyper-efficient assistant, not a rogue genius waiting to take over the world (we think).

3. Providing IT support

AI in space is meant for, well, space. It can’t navigate Mars and fix your internet at the same time. If you need IT support, you’ll need to find someone on Earth to do that.

Space Exploration and Artificial Intelligence Are Working Together

Consider AI in space as a co-pilot.

As we’ve already established, space is vast and hostile. It’s unforgiving in ways that Earth isn’t. Signals can take minutes to hours to travel, and every decision—from where to land to what rocks to study—is expensive and, frankly, irreversible.

That’s why space exploration and artificial intelligence are joining forces.

AI in Space Has Earned Itself a Seat with Mission Control

Rather than acting as a single, all-knowing system, AI supports space exploration in very specific, practical ways. It can navigate without a safety net, turn raw data into discovery, and help design smarter missions.

AI in space has proven to be a valuable asset.

Final Thoughts on AI in Space

AI will continue to aid outer space exploration, pushing the boundaries of what we initially thought possible. And who knows? Maybe AI will even discover the aliens before we do.

Let’s just hope they don’t start working together.

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Danielle Mundy is a Content Marketing Specialist for Tier 3 Technology. She graduated magna cum laude from Iowa State University, where she worked on the English Department magazine and social media. She creates engaging multichannel marketing content—from social media posts to white papers.