By 
September 10th, 2025
Timeline for an Artificial Astronaut
Image credit: Pascal Lee
An emerging possibility is including “Artificial Astronauts” as actual crew members on human missions to Mars, and elsewhere in space.
These ruggedized space-rated artificial humans offer great advantages. Among them is that they would not require the large amounts of consumables needed to support humans. They could also perform spacewalks without a life-support system.
Another busy day on Mars!
Image credit: SpaceX
“I think humans will still go to space and explore Mars and beyond, but we will be in interesting company,” explains a Red Planet scientist.
For details, go to my new Space.com story — “’Artificial super astronauts’: How AI and robotics could help humanity settle Mars” – at:
Lee’s talk on this topic at the 2025 Space Robotics Workshop is now available at:
Artwork depicts three human astronauts on Mars with an artificial astronaut crew member who does not need a spacesuit.
Image credit: Pascal Lee/Google Gemini AI image generator
Posted in Space News
