Preliminary Program
9:00 AM
Welcoming Remarks
Lisa Campbell, President – Canadian Space Agency
9:30 AM
Applying AI to Space Situational Awareness: Empowering Asset Protection and Space Debris Management
Following the succession of events in recent months that have mobilized the international space community, the need to protect assets and look towards space sustainability has become a growing focal point. This mismanagement of our orbit can be, in part, addressed by the implementation of artificial intelligence empowering more efficient forms of debris management and space asset protection. This panel will address how AI will play an integral role in Space Situational Awareness to protect key assets and safely monitor space debris.
10:30 AM
Coffee Break and Networking
11:30 AM
A New Generation of Spacecrafts: Using AI to Foster Autonomous Satellites
The space industry is slowly beginning to integrate the use of new generation satellites, satellites that are increasingly more autonomous and capable of fulfilling several different missions and directives with an increased focus on flexibility and digitalization. This panel will consider the role artificial intelligence will play to enable these next-gen satellites to become fully autonomous and flexible space assets for the industry. A development that in turn will lead to faster missions and reduced operational costs.
12:30 PM
Lunch Break
2:15 PM
AI Assistance From Ground-zero to Mars: Providing Support for Astronauts Every Step of the Way
As Astronauts delve deeper into space, spending increasingly long periods of time away from Earth, there is a need to integrate autonomous aspects into their lives to better assist them during these prolonged missions. Artificial intelligence becomes an integral tool for the Astronaut journey, notably for both their health and training. This raises the question: how can we make astronauts more independent through AI as they journey further down the infinite rabbit hole of space?
3:15 PM
Coffee Break and Networking
4:00 PM
Autonomous Rovers Taking the Lead in Space Exploration: Hello Moon-bots!
As we continue to place our faith in robotics for the prolonged exploration of currently inhospitable environments such as the Moon or Mars, there is an increasing need to rely on these robots to enable autonomous decision making and facilitate space exploration. If we take the moon as an example, only 5% of its surface has been explored, autonomous rovers would allow us to conduct critical scientific research, enabling Astronauts and the ground team to focus on other tasks at hand.
5:00 PM
Cocktail
9:00 AM
Opening Remarks
9:30 AM
Monitoring our Environment from Space: Applying AI to Earth Observation for a Sustainable Future
As we saw in the first edition of AIxSPACE, the technological advancements made over the past 60 years towards Earth Observation (EO) have been almost immeasurable. This exponential growth has paved the way for us to better monitor our environment and natural resources, as well as map our human footprint more effectively, providing us with a comprehensive understanding of our environmental impact. As EO satellites continue to grow in terms of quantity and capabilities, so does the data we obtain to work towards a cleaner Earth. This panel will take an in-depth look at the advancements made towards Earth Observation thanks to AI and how we can use this technology to ensure a sustainable future.
10:30 AM
Coffee Break and Networking
11:30 AM
Securing the Seas : Satellite Imagery and AI for a Safer, More Autonomous Maritime Industry
From the detection of illegal activities to complete fleet autonomy, a new role has emerged for the combined use of AI and Space technologies. Whereas last year AIxSPACE looked at how Aeronautics and the space industry were inherently intertwined, our second edition will look at the implications for the maritime industry.
Given the importance of the maritime sector for the world’s economy, and the immensity of our oceans, the need to stay connected on open water and provide real-time data is becoming vital. This panel will consider how both the AI and Space industries can provide safer seas on a global scale.
12:30 PM
Lunch Break
2:15 PM
Decongesting Data From Space: Intelligent Ground Stations
Within the next decade, the number of satellites in orbit is set to increase tenfold. From this stems an urgent need to focus on the development of intelligent terrestrial radio stations to accelerate data processing capabilities on Earth. By using AI for both satellites and ground stations, organizations are capable of accelerating the information processing capabilities between both points of contact.
Essentially, the use of AI for both ground stations and satellites enables a refined selection of data between these two key points of contact.