NASA and Google have teamed up to create an AI tool designed to support astronaut health during future deep space missions. The Crew Medical Officer Digital Assistant (CMO-DA) is a proof-of-concept clinical decision support system that uses advanced natural language processing and machine learning to help astronauts diagnose and treat symptoms when real-time communication with Earth is limited or no physician is onboard.
“Trained on spaceflight literature, the AI system uses cutting-edge natural language processing and machine learning techniques to safely provide real-time analyses of crew health and performance. The tool is designed to support a designated crew medical officer or flight surgeon in maintaining crew health and making medical decisions driven by data and predictive analytics,” Google Cloud stated in an official update.
Early trials of CMO-DA, evaluated using the Objective Structured Clinical Examination framework, showed promising accuracy in diagnosing conditions based on reported symptoms. NASA and Google are now refining the tool with input from medical professionals.
The collaboration comes as NASA pushes ahead with the Artemis campaign to return humans to the Moon and prepare for Mars exploration. Beyond spaceflight, the technology could also be applied to remote healthcare on Earth, bringing early access to medical expertise in underserved areas.