Beyond Low Earth Orbit: Biological Research, Artificial Intelligence, and Self-Driving Labs

• Main Authors: Sanders, Lauren M, Yang, Jason H, Scott, Ryan T, Qutub, Amina Ann, Martin, Hector Garcia, Berrios, Daniel C, Hastings, Jaden J. A, Rask, Jon, Mackintosh, Graham, Hoarfrost, Adrienne L, Chalk, Stuart, Kalantari, John, Khezeli, Kia, Antonsen, Erik L, Babdor, Joel, Barker, Richard, Baranzini, Sergio E, Beheshti, Afshin, Delgado-Aparicio, Guillermo M, Glicksberg, Benjamin S, Greene, Casey S, Haendel, Melissa, Hamid, Arif A, Heller, Philip, Jamieson, Daniel, Jarvis, Katelyn J, Komarova, Svetlana V, Komorowski, Matthieu, Kothiyal, Prachi, Mahabal, Ashish, Manor, Uri, Mason, Christopher E, Matar, Mona, Mias, George I, Miller, Jack, MyersJr, Jerry G, Nelson, Charlotte, Oribello, Jonathan, Park, Seung-min, Parsons-Wingerter, Patricia, Prabhu, R. K, Reynolds, Robert J, Saravia-Butler, Amanda, Saria, Suchi, Sawyer, Aenor, Singh, Nitin Kumar, Soboczenski, Frank, Snyder, Michael, Soman, Karthik, Theriot, Corey A, Van Valen, David, Venkateswaran, Kasthuri, Warren, Liz, Worthey, Liz, Zitnik, Marinka, Costes, Sylvain V
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 22-12-2021
• Subjects: Computer Science - Learning; Quantitative Biology - Other
• DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.2112.12582

Space biology research aims to understand fundamental effects of spaceflight
on organisms, develop foundational knowledge to support deep space exploration,
and ultimately bioengineer spacecraft and habitats to stabilize the ecosystem
of plants, crops, microbes, animals, and humans for sustained multi-planetary
life. To advance these aims, the field leverages experiments, platforms, data,
and model organisms from both spaceborne and ground-analog studies. As research
is extended beyond low Earth orbit, experiments and platforms must be maximally
autonomous, light, agile, and intelligent to expedite knowledge discovery. Here
we present a summary of recommendations from a workshop organized by the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration on artificial intelligence,
machine learning, and modeling applications which offer key solutions toward
these space biology challenges. In the next decade, the synthesis of artificial
intelligence into the field of space biology will deepen the biological
understanding of spaceflight effects, facilitate predictive modeling and
analytics, support maximally autonomous and reproducible experiments, and
efficiently manage spaceborne data and metadata, all with the goal to enable
life to thrive in deep space.