TYB
NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day
December 30, 2025
An Artificial Comet
Yes, but can your comet tail do this? No, and what you are seeing is not the tail of a comet. The picture features a cleverly overlayed time-lapse sequence of a group of satellites orbiting Earth together in June. Specifically, these are Starlink communications satellites in low Earth orbit reflecting back sunlight before sunrise to Inner Mongolia, China. Although the satellites appear to the human eye as points, the 20-second-long camera exposures caused them to appear as short streaks. Currently there are over 9000 Starlinks in orbit, with more being launched nearly every week. Other satellite constellations are also being planned.
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html
Disaster Cycle Caused by the Galaxy | S0 News and frens
Dec.30.2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKhtuT7s_WA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5PnEL4CjaQ (ESA: Nature’s fireworks from space)
https://x.com/MrMBB333/status/2005760413930250609
https://x.com/StefanBurnsGeo/status/2005717868126851485
https://gizmodo.com/trumps-crusade-against-woke-climate-research-threatens-solar-science-2000704041
https://www.sciencefocus.com/space/25-aurora-photos-2025
https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/
https://spaceweather.com/
Earth-directed CME from M4.2 flare forecast to produce G1 geomagnetic storm on New Year’s Day
Monday, December 29, 2025
A coronal mass ejection (CME) produced by an M4.2 solar flare from Active Region 4317 at 22:39 UTC on December 28 is expected to cause a glancing impact on Earth’s magnetic field late on December 31 into early January 1, triggering a G1 – Minor geomagnetic storm at the beginning of the new year.
This is the highest level predicted through the three-day outlook.
Modeling of the CME propagation suggests that the plasma cloud associated with the M4.2 event will only partially intersect Earth’s orbit, producing an indirect or grazing encounter rather than a full impact.
Although the CME is not Earth-directed in its entirety, its flank is expected to merge with a negative-polarity coronal hole high-speed stream already moving through the inner heliosphere.
It is this interaction that may enhance geomagnetic activity to minor storm levels.
Potential impacts are expected primarily at geomagnetic latitudes poleward of 60°. Weak induced current fluctuations in power grids are possible, while minor effects on satellite operations may occur.
Aurora may become visible across high-latitude regions, including parts of northern Michigan and Maine in the United States.
Solar activity remained at moderate levels on December 28–29. Region 4317 produced the aforementioned M4.2 flare and a secondary C8.9 flare, while Region 4325 generated M1.3 and M1.0 flares as it exhibited rapid growth and magnetic complexity.
Region 4321 showed signs of restructuring as it approached the west limb but remained relatively quiet. Other active regions were stable or in decay.
The solar wind during the past 24 hours reflected near-background conditions, with speeds between 450 and 500 km/s, total magnetic field strength of 3–8 nT, and Bz components fluctuating between +5 and −5 nT.
SWPC forecasts background conditions to continue through December 30, followed by enhanced parameters on December 31 as the coronal hole and CME influence reach Earth.
The greater than 2 MeV electron flux remains at high levels, while the greater than 10 MeV proton flux continues at background intensity.
No additional Earth-directed CMEs have been identified in coronagraph imagery from SOHO/LASCO and STEREO-A spacecraft.
https://watchers.news/2025/12/29/earth-directed-cme-from-m4-2-flare-forecast-to-produce-g1-geomagnetic-storm-on-new-years-day/
https://x.com/halocme/status/2005562536322822510
This Is Exclusive: Unseen Visuals Of 3I/Atlas From India
Dec 30, 2025 at 8:44 PM IST
As Republic unveils never-before-seen images from the ground-breaking 3i-ATLAS initiative—India's significant advancement in indigenous innovation, intelligence, and infrastructure—join us for an exclusive LIVE broadcast.
These images highlight the scope and aspirations of a project that might establish India's strategic position in the world.
What is 3i's true purpose? What part does ATLAS play in this quiet change? This stream provides you with unique access to images and insights that have never been seen before, ranging from advanced research to cutting-edge development. Don't pass it up.
https://www.republicworld.com/shows/this-is-exclusive/unseen-visuals-of-3i-atlas-from-india-video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bz0aZpCRxs4
https://www.ufonews.co/post/new-hubble-images-show-3i-atlas-has-two-jets-not-one
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=leRhPI-cQsY
https://avi-loeb.medium.com/how-rare-is-our-interstellar-dating-partner-of-2025-3i-atlas-5ad63354aa0c
https://medium.com/@datastar/3i-atlas-and-jupiter-what-it-really-takes-to-intercept-an-interstellar-object-ii-99d53eeb3a1b
https://www.wionews.com/trending/3i-atlas-is-not-unique-scientist-says-a-trillion-interstellar-objects-are-in-the-solar-system-right-now-1767097867958
https://nypost.com/2025/12/30/science/8-theories-that-suggest-that-3i-atlas-is-alien-spacecraft/
https://www.coasttocoastam.com/show/2025-12-29-show/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1DiHHDSxM0 (The Angry Astronaut: 3I Atlas is changing, even though it shouldn't! NEW HUBBLE PHOTOS!)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utVJgm4hyr4 (Dobsonian Power: LIVE 3I/ATLAS WITH A BIG TELESCOPE!)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-hA2N_4WNg (The Real BPEarthWatch: ATLAS /MAJOR UPDATE)
https://x.com/djshmbhu30/status/2005706052969623608
https://x.com/ThedawnIAM/status/2005543504877920605
https://x.com/RedCollie1/status/2005786073889402886
https://x.com/RockerMaik55223/status/2005728236572205265
New Hubble Images Show 3I/ATLAS Has Two Jets Not One
December 29, 2025
New Hubble Space Telescope images from December 12th and December 27th are revealing something scientists did not expect.
3I/ATLAS is now displaying two distinct jets shooting out from its nucleus, and they are wobbling and shifting in ways that are raising serious questions about this mysterious visitor.
3I/ATLAS made its closest approach to Earth on December 19th, coming within 270 million kilometers of our planet. It did not perform any unusual maneuvers and basically ignored Earth.
It is now racing away from the Sun at over 144,000 miles per hour, heading directly toward Jupiter.
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According to geophysicist Stefan Burns, who appeared on the Randall Carlson show, the key thing that has changed our understanding is just how fast this object is moving.
Burns stated that 3I/ATLAS could be the fastest object ever observed and measured, coming in at 58 kilometers per second and reaching 68 kilometers per second at perihelion.
This extreme speed means it experienced only a slight deviation of about 16 degrees when passing the Sun, essentially behaving like a bullet firing through our solar system.
The carbon dioxide coma surrounding the object expanded to roughly 700,000 kilometers across, about the distance from Earth to the Moon and approximately half the diameter of the Sun itself.
Loeb has been tracking the anti-tail since July 21st when Hubble captured its first image. That jet is 10 times longer than it is wide and extends over one million kilometers, which is two and a half times the distance from Earth to the Moon.
What makes this unusual is that comet tails normally get pushed away from the Sun, but here we see the exact opposite, and it has persisted for months.
Researchers found the anti-tail wobbles by about 8 degrees as the object spins. According to Loeb, the rotation axis points almost directly at the Sun to within 8 degrees, which he described as really surprising.
He noted the chance of that alignment happening randomly is only about half a percent, and it means the object has a permanent dayside and a permanent nightside.
Back in late July, observers detected the brightness of 3I/ATLAS repeating every 16 hours with about 20 percent variation.
Loeb compared this to a heartbeat, explaining that the object is basically pulsating in the material it sends into the surrounding gas cloud through the jet.
According to Burns, 3I/ATLAS was likely once a short period comet that got heavily thermally processed before being flung out of its original star system.
During its long transit through interstellar space, perhaps billions of years, it accumulated a crust of interstellar material.
Burns noted the evolution from red to green and the changing composition of its coma indicates it was heavily enhanced with these materials on its crust and has been volatilizing that out.
3I/ATLAS will arrive at Jupiter on March 16th, 2026, at exactly the distance called the Hill radius, where Jupiter’s gravity dominates over the Sun’s gravitational influence.
This is also where Lagrange points exist, stable spots in space where gravity between two large objects balances out. We placed the James Webb Space Telescope at one of Earth’s Lagrange points for that same reason.
Most recently, methanol was detected at two orders of magnitude higher than hydrogen cyanide, which is a very unusual ratio. Methanol is a building block for prebiotic chemistry, material crucial for the origin of life on early Earth.
Loeb is hoping for Webb telescope spectra of the jets in coming weeks. If the jet speed is below a few hundred meters per second, it could be due to sublimation of ice pockets.
But technological thrusters can produce exhaust speeds of a few kilometers per second or even tens of kilometers per second.
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SolarObserver
@SolarObserverX
Just some "objects" on LASCO C2. Enjoy!
#LASCO #SOHO #NRL #NASA #UAP
12:49 AM · Dec 30, 2025
https://x.com/SolarObserverX/status/2005924249379238373
>Learing
The Earth Observer: Offering Perspectives from Space through Time
Dec 29, 2025
An Intertwined History: The Earth Observer and EOS
The Earth Observer, a newsletter issued for more than 36 years, will release its last online content at the close of 2025. This newsletter evolved in parallel with NASA’s Earth Observing System (EOS).
It is almost impossible to speak of this newsletter without mentioning EOS. As The Earth Observer prepares its final publication, NASA also plans to shutter its three EOS flagship satellites (discussed below) possibly as early as the end of 2026.
While EOS was “much more than its satellites,” one cannot deny that the satellite missions and their iconic images provide an entry point to the overarching work conducted by the EOS science teams for almost three decades.
These efforts spanned crucial complementary ground- and aircraft-based observations along with focused field campaigns to coordinate observations across multiple levels of Earth system time and spatial scales.
The teams worked (and continue to work) closely with the NASA Earth Science Division Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS) and related Science Investigator Processing System (SIPS) facilities, as well as developed and enhanced the algorithms that support the satellite products.
Readers who wish to learn more about these topics should consult The Earth Observer’s archives page, which contains much of the history of this work.
During this point of inflection, The Earth Observer’s publication team felt it important to pause and reflect on the significance of the work detailed in the newsletter throughout this brief slip of time. The result is the article that follows.
A Flagship of an Idea: Almost Four Decades of Science
As described in the article, A Condensed History of the Earth Observing System (EOS) [June 1989, 1:3. 2–3], what would become known as EOS had its foundation in the recommendations of an ad hoc NASA study group that convened in 1981 to “determine what could and should be done to study integrated Earth science measurement needs.”
Initially, the study group envisioned several large platforms in space, each with numerous instruments that would be serviced by the Space Shuttle, similar to servicing of the Hubble Telescope on several occasions.
Known as System Z [Sept.–Oct. 2008, 20:5, 4–7], this early vision “laid the groundwork for a Mission to Planet Earth” but was reimagined after the tragic loss of the Space Shuttle Challenger in Jan.
-
At the time, an article detailed the impracticality of launching shuttle missions into polar orbit to service EOS satellites, see Polar Shuttle Launches: The Path Almost Taken, Sept.–Oct. 2011, 23:5, 6–7].
Eventually, the large space platform concept morphed into several mid-size flagship satellite missions, known today as Terra, Aqua, and Aura. Smaller satellite missions would supplement and enhance the data gathered by the “big three” satellites – see Figure 1.
yuge articles cont.
https://science.nasa.gov/science-research/earth-science/the-earth-observer-offering-perspectives-from-space-through-time/
https://science.nasa.gov/science-research/earth-science/terra-the-end-of-an-era/
https://science.nasa.gov/science-research/earth-science/the-final-earth-observer-editors-corner-october-december-2025/
https://science.nasa.gov/science-research/earth-science/the-state-of-ceres-updates-and-highlights/
Los Angeles Palisades Wildfire, January 2025: Black Carbon, Weather, and Air Quality
updated Monday, December 29, 2025 at 2:31 PM EST
This visualization leverages NASA's Goddard Earth Observing System (GEOS) model to examine the Palisades Fire, a highly destructive wildfire that began in the Santa Monica Mountains of Los Angeles County on January 7, 2025.
Spanning from January 2nd through January 14th, this visualization shows black carbon dispersal from the fire, overlaid with regional meteorological conditions affecting fire behavior and regional air quality indicators for surrounding communities.
The visualization demonstrates how advanced Earth system modeling can track the complex interactions between wildfire events and their environmental impacts, providing critical insights into how fires affect both atmospheric conditions and community health across the greater Los Angeles region.
Goddard Earth Observing System (GEOS)
NASA’s GEOS is a complex modeling and data assimilation system that creates global analyses of the Earth System.
GEOS integrates satellite observations, in situ measurements, and approximately one million weather observations collected hourly to inform its models.
GEOS data products are created by NASA’s Global Modeling and Assimilation Office (GMAO).
The GEOS visualization provided in this webpage incorporates data from the following products:
GEOS-FP 2KM Replay: Black carbon dispersal from the fire.
GEOS-FP: Regional weather analysis for 2-meter Temperature (T2m), 10-meter Wind Speed (W10m), Relative Humidity (RH), Soil Moisture (SM), and regional air quality analysis for Particulate Matter 2.5 (PM2.5) concentrations.
GEOS-CF: Regional air quality concentrations for Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2), Carbon Monoxide (CO), and Ozone (O3).
https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/5594/
2025 Space Station Science Snapshots
Dec 29, 2025
2025 marks another year pushing the boundaries of scientific research aboard the International Space Station.
This past year, over 750 investigations were conducted aboard the space station, supported by crewed missions and resupply vehicles delivering essential cargo and experiments to the orbiting laboratory.
This year’s research included testing DNA’s ability to store data, producing vital nutrients on demand, demonstrating technology for space debris removal and satellite maintenance, advancing next-generation medicines, and more.
Astronauts visited the space station from across the globe to continue research benefiting humanity on Earth and paving the way for future exploration missions, including NASA’s Artemis program to return humanity to the Moon.
On Nov. 2, 2025, NASA and its international partners surpassed 25 years of continuous human presence aboard the space station, showcasing humanity’s dedication to space exploration and scientific discovery.
Over a million images were taken aboard the space station this year, documenting groundbreaking research, observing Earth from space, and even capturing comets and other celestial phenomenon.
Rewind and look back at a photo recap of 2025 aboard the space station.
https://www.nasa.gov/image-article/2025-space-station-science-snapshots/
https://images.nasa.gov/album/Best_Space_Station_Science_Images_2025
ICESat-2 Winter Sea Ice Thickness (2020-2025)
Monday, December 29, 2025
One of the big challenges in polar science is measuring the thickness of the floating sea ice that blankets the Arctic and Southern Oceans.
Newly formed sea ice might be only a few inches thick, whereas sea ice that survives several winter seasons can grow to several feet in thickness (over ten feet in some places).
Sea ice thickness is typically estimated by first measuring sea ice freeboard - how much of the floating ice can be observed above sea level.
Sea ice floats slightly above sea level because it is less dense than water.
NASA’s ICESat-2 satellite measures the Earth’s surface height by firing green laser pulses towards Earth and timing how long it takes for those laser pulses to reflect back to the satellite.
Ice freeboard is calculated by differencing the heights of the ice surface and areas of open water next to the ice. Additional information including the depth and density of the snow layer on top of the ice is needed to convert this freeboard measurement to sea ice thickness.
New state-of-the-art snow accumulation models have been developed to provide this extra data in preparation for the launch of ICESat-2.
The very high precision of the ICESat-2 laser has enabled us for to measure the thickness of very thin sea ice for the first time.
As the Arctic warms rapidly it is becoming increasingly dominated by a younger and thinner ice cover, making these new measurements extremely invaluable for understanding our changing polar regions.
ICESat-2 L4 monthly gridded sea ice thickness data available here: https://nsidc.org/data/is2sitmogr4/versions/4
https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/5592/
Tracking Weather Extremes: May 2025 Tornadoes and Flooding Across the Continental United States
updated Monday, December 29, 2025 at 12:15 PM EST
May 2025 experienced an exceptionally active severe weather season across the continental United States, with multiple outbreaks causing widespread devastation from both tornadoes and flooding.
After a relatively quiet start to the month, severe weather erupted on May 15-16, producing at least 79 confirmed tornadoes that struck regions including Marion, Illinois, and Somerset/London, Kentucky.
The May 16 outbreak resulted in significant casualties across multiple states, with St. Louis experiencing catastrophic damage from a nearly mile-wide wedge tornado.
Heavy rainfall accompanied these storm systems, with 24-hour precipitation accumulations exceeding dangerous thresholds in many areas, leading to significant flash flooding and river flooding across several states.
A second major outbreak from May 18-20 generated at least 118 additional tornadoes and brought torrential downpours that exacerbated flooding in already saturated regions.
The combination of tornadic activity and extreme precipitation created compound disasters in many communities, highlighting the extreme nature of the atmospheric conditions that fueled these devastating weather patterns across the central and eastern United States.
https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/5593/
NASA to Preview US Spacewalks at Space Station in January
Dec 29, 2025
NASA astronauts will conduct a pair of spacewalks in January outside of the International Space Station to prepare for the installation of a roll-out solar array and complete other tasks.
Experts from NASA will preview the spacewalks in a briefing at 2 p.m. EST Tuesday, Jan. 6, at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.
Watch NASA’s live coverage of the news conference on the agency’s YouTube channel. Learn how to stream NASA content through a variety of online platforms, including social media.
Participants include:
Bill Spetch, operations integration manager, International Space Station Program
Diana Trujillo, spacewalk flight director, Flight Operations Directorate
Heidi Brewer, spacewalk flight director, Flight Operations Directorate
Media interested in participating in person or by phone must contact the NASA Johnson newsroom no later than 10 a.m., Monday, Jan. 5, by calling 281-483-5111 or emailing jsccommu@mail.nasa.gov.
To ask questions by phone, reporters must dial into the news conference no later than 15 minutes prior to the start of the call. Questions may also be submitted on social media using #AskNASA. NASA’s media accreditation policy is available online.
On Thursday, Jan. 8, NASA astronauts Mike Fincke and Zena Cardman will exit the station’s Quest airlock to prepare the 2A power channel for future installation of International Space Station Roll-Out Solar Arrays.
Once installed, the array will provide additional power for the orbital laboratory, including critical support of its safe and controlled deorbit. This spacewalk will be Cardman’s first and Fincke’s 10th, tying him for the most spacewalks by a NASA astronaut.
On Thursday, Jan. 15, two NASA astronauts will replace a high-definition camera on camera port 3, install a new navigational aid for visiting spacecraft, called a planar reflector, on the Harmony module’s forward port, and relocate an early ammonia servicer jumper — a flexible hose assembly that connects parts of a fluid system — along with other jumpers on the station’s S6 and S4 truss.
NASA will announce the astronauts planned for the second spacewalk and start times for both events closer to the operations.
The spacewalks will be the 278th and 279th in support of space station assembly, maintenance and upgrades. They also are the first two International Space Station spacewalks of 2026, and the first by Expedition 74.
https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-to-preview-us-spacewalks-at-space-station-in-january/
Amid reports of massive data breach, European Space Agency says impact limited to servers with unclassified documents
Updated: Dec 30, 2025, 21:23 IST
Following the reports of a massive data breach, the European Space Agency (ESA), in its initial statements, said that the alleged data breach impacted a very limited number of science servers, which are located outside of ESA's corporate network.
The agency on Monday (Dec 30) stated that the data breach only impacted unclassified collaborative engineering activities.
"ESA is aware of a recent cybersecurity issue involving servers located outside the ESA corporate network. We have initiated a forensic security analysis—currently in progress—and implemented measures to secure any potentially affected devices," the statement said.
"Our analysis so far indicates that only a very small number of external servers may have been impacted. These servers support unclassified collaborative engineering activities within the scientific community," it added.
These statements follow December 26 reports that emerged on X claiming that the ESA had suffered a massive data breach, when a hacker put more than 200 gigabytes of data for sale, he used the alias "888" for the offering.
The hacker in his sales pitch claimed that the leaked information includes source code for proprietary software, sensitive project documentation, API tokens, and hardcoded credentials.
On December 29, the European agency confirmed the claim of a data breach and said that a forensic investigation into the matter is underway. Later, on December 30, the ESA tried to characterise the incident as a minor data breach with a limited impact.
The agency underscored that all the stakeholders have been informed and vowed to provide additional information in the future. "All relevant stakeholders have been informed, and we will provide further updates as soon as additional information becomes available".
https://www.wionews.com/trending/amid-reports-of-massive-data-breach-european-space-agency-says-impact-limited-to-servers-with-unclassified-documents-1767108956986
https://europeanspaceflight.com/esa-says-data-breach-was-limited-to-servers-with-unclassified-documents/
https://twitter.com/esa/status/2005938460448715055
https://www.technology.org/2025/12/30/ai-advances-robot-navigation-on-the-international-space-station/
https://arxiv.org/pdf/2505.05588
AI advances robot navigation on the International Space Station
December 30, 2025
Stanford researchers have become the first to demonstrate that machine-learning control can safely guide a robot aboard the ISS, laying the groundwork for more autonomous space missions.
Imagine a robot about the size of a toaster floating through the tight corridors of the International Space Station, quietly moving supplies or checking for leaks – all without an astronaut at the controls.
Such technology could free up valuable time for astronauts and open new opportunities for robotics-based exploration.
That sci-fi vision is coming closer to reality now that Stanford researchers have become the first to show that machine-learning-based control can operate aboard the ISS.
New research, published in and presented at the 2025 International Conference on Space Robotics (iSpaRo), introduces a system designed to help Astrobee, a cube-shaped, fan-powered robot, autonomously navigate the International Space Station.
The ISS is a complex environment made up of interconnected modules filled with computers, storage, wiring, and experiment hardware.
This makes planning safe motion for Astrobee far from trivial, said Somrita Banerjee, lead researcher who conducted this work as part of her Stanford PhD.
The traditional autonomous planning approaches that have gained traction on Earth are largely impractical for space-rated hardware. “The flight computers to run these algorithms are often more resource-constrained than ones on terrestrial robots.
Additionally, in a space environment, uncertainty, disturbances, and safety requirements are often more demanding than in terrestrial applications,” said senior author Marco Pavone, associate professor of aeronautics and astronautics in the School of Engineering and director of Stanford’s Autonomous Systems Laboratory.
Despite these challenges, the team pushed the field forward with a noteworthy space research achievement. “This is the first time AI has been used to help control a robot on the ISS,” said Banerjee.
“It shows that robots can move faster and more efficiently without sacrificing safety, which is essential for future missions where humans won’t always be able to guide them.”
Training AI for space
Banerjee compares the challenge of optimizing Astrobee’s routes through the ISS to planning a road trip from San Francisco to Los Angeles: You want the fastest path, the most energy-efficient one, and, above all, a safe one.
To tackle that task in the ISS’s compact environment, the team’s route planning system relies on a traditionally used optimization method called sequential convex programming, which breaks a difficult planning problem into a series of smaller, simpler steps.
This process is designed to produce a final trajectory that is safe and feasible. However, solving each step from scratch can be demanding for Astrobee’s onboard computer and can slow the process – one of the key limitations of conventional techniques.
With the aim of speeding things up, the team enhanced their system with a machine-learning-based model that they trained on thousands of past path solutions.
The model can reveal patterns such as where a corridor always exists and where obstacles tend to be. Providing the robot with foundational knowledge before further refinements is known as a “warm start.”
The optimization technique still enforces all the safety constraints; the machine learning model just helps it reach the answer much faster.
“Using a warm start is like planning a road trip by starting with a route that real people have driven before, rather than drawing a straight line across the map,” Banerjee said. “You start with something informed by experience and then optimize from there.”
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A milestone for AI in space
Before sending their AI to space, the team applied the system to a special testbed at NASA Ames Research Center.
There, they had the AI model operate a robot similar to Astrobee, as it floated just above the surface of a granite table, buoyed by compressed air that mimics partial microgravity. “It’s like a puck on an air-hockey table,” Banerjee said.
When the real test day arrived, the Stanford team joined by video call while astronauts on the ISS completed what NASA calls a “crew-minimal” setup. The astronauts handled only preparation and cleanup, then stepped aside.
For the next four hours, Banerjee sent instructions to ground operators at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.
Then, the NASA team relayed the commands to Astrobee, specifying its starting point and destination, simulating obstacles to avoid, and trying both warm and cold starts.
Multiple safety measures kept the experiment secure, including replacing physical obstacles with virtual ones to eliminate collision risk, maintaining a backup robot, and allowing operators to abort a run if necessary.
The team tested 18 trajectories, each lasting more than a minute. Each was run twice: first with a cold start using the standard planning method, and then with a warm start, where the AI provided a first draft of the path that the system could quickly adjust.
The tests showed that giving Astrobee a warm start significantly sped up motion planning. “We showed that it’s 50 to 60% faster, especially in more challenging situations,” Banerjee said.
Those harder cases included cluttered areas, tight corridors, and maneuvers requiring rotation instead of a straight path.
Watching Astrobee in orbit was a deeply personal experience for Banerjee.
“The coolest part was having astronauts float past during the experiment,” she said. “One of them was one of my childhood heroes, Sunita Williams.
Seeing years of work actually perform in space and watching her there while the robot moved around was incredible.”
The future of robots in orbit
After their experiment on the ISS, the team’s warm start system reached Technology Readiness Level 5, a NASA designation indicating successful testing in a real operational environment.
The upgrade indicates that this technology is low risk, which is important for proposing new experiments or future missions.
Looking ahead, Banerjee said this type of mathematically grounded, safety-focused AI will be crucial as robots take on more tasks independently, and as NASA sends crewed missions to the moon and Mars.
“As robots travel farther from Earth and as missions become more frequent and lower cost, we won’t always be able to teleoperate them from the ground,” she said.
Such technologies will allow astronauts to focus on higher-priority work and use their time more effectively. “Autonomy with built-in guarantees isn’t just helpful; it’s essential for the future of space robotics,” she said.
Pavone highlighted that his lab will continue to research and advance warm starting techniques.
“As part of the Center for Aerospace Autonomy Research (CAESAR), we are collaborating with the Stanford Space Rendezvous Lab to explore more powerful AI models – the same kinds used in modern language tools and self-driving systems.
With stronger generalization capabilities, these models would enable robots to navigate even more challenging situations in future space missions.”
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