At NASA, AI is helping scientists unlock discoveries hidden in decades of data

The goal is to provide access to information that once required significant expertise – a farmer, for example, can ask Hydrology Copilot what the environmental conditions were that year in a particular area. Local agencies can explore water conditions in their areas without needing technical expertise.

“I truly think this is going to democratize (data),” Kumar says. “It goes beyond scientists and practitioners who know how to work with the data to the average person who can just access the data and the information that flows from it.”

AI is also transforming weather forecasting, Kumar says. NASA foundational models trained on decades of Earth science data and physical models can help detect and simulate weather patterns quicker. AI is also enabling faster responses to disasters by allowing satellite data to be processed on the edge, close to where it’s created or used, instead of needing to transmit it back to Earth first.   

“Let’s say we are looking…