Taikonauts on China's Tiangong space station used artificial intelligence to prepare for their recent spacewalk, China Daily reported.
The model, called Wukong, arrived at the station in mid-July. It is based on the Chinese open artificial intelligence platform iFlytek. According to the developers, the system has a knowledge base focused on space flight standards and works both aboard the station and on Earth. In orbit, it helps solve critical tasks, while the ground version performs deeper analysis.
While preparing for their spacewalk, the crew asked Wukong to create a work schedule. The system provided links and instructions that helped the taikonauts organize their work.
The spacewalk was also significant for another reason: the Chinese spacesuit was used for the twentieth time. It was originally designed for 15 spacewalks, but it survived five additional ones. Eleven taikonauts used it.
Meanwhile, China has sent two new spacesuits to Tiangong, which have a longer service life, higher levels of safety and comfort. They will be needed for future missions, including for the station's expansion.
This isn't the first time AI has been used in orbit: last year, HPE and Booz Allen deployed a large language model, Meta Space Llama, on the International Space Station to work with technical documentation. NASA is also developing an AI-based medical assistant to help astronauts on the Moon and Mars.