The AI boom could help fuel much-needed growth for the space industry. Why it matters: Investment in the space industry has faced headwinds this year in line with broader trends, but as space companies look for new lines of funding, government contracts and private investment, AI could serve as a boon. Companies that make use of and collect geospatial intelligence — photos and analysis of Earth — are enhancing their capabilities through advances in AI and machine learning. “AI is a transformative technology that cuts across the space economy,” Space Capital’s Chad Anderson tells Axios. “It is one of the trends that is helping to drive growth” in the industry, he added. The big picture: Space companies have relied on machine learning and AI for years. Picking out trends, like deforestation in the Amazon, and identifying objects of interest, like cars in a parking lot over time, are most easily done using algorithms that can locate what customers and governments need. Years ago, companies provided huge amounts of data to government agencies to analyze and produce their own results. But today, companies are analyzing data for their customers directly.
In many cases, they aren’t just paying for pixels anymore, they’re paying for a service, Scott Herman, Maxar Intelligence’s chief product officer, tells Axios.
Full story : AI is giving the growing space industry a boost.
