From accelerated satellite launches to AI-powered carbon monitoring—big updates in space this week.
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Welcome to SpaceNext: AI! Welcome back to SpaceNext: AI, where space and artificial intelligence collide. This week, we're diving into some fresh developments:
FireWatch's satellite launch gets a boost from Google's AI funding, and Planet's new AI tool offers a groundbreaking way to monitor forest carbon from space. Plus, we'll look at NASA's open-source OnAIR platform, which is paving the way for autonomous space missions. Let's jump in!
Ad Astra et Ultra, Cum AI 🤖🚀 — Brian Berger, SpaceNews editor-in-chief
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🔥 Normally, accelerant is the last thing you want when fighting forest fires. But Google pledged a cool $13 million this month to help EDF and spacecraft provider Muon Space accelerate FireWatch's launch date from 2026 into early 2025.
🍨 SpaceNews Senior Staff Writer Sandra Erwin got the scoop on FireWatch at GEOINT in May, reporting that the initial three satellites were expected to launch in 2026. The project was already notable for its promise to detect wildfires at an unprecedented scale, using multispectral infrared sensors to capture fires early and provide data critical to firefighting strategies.
⚡ What's changed? Google's latest investment has not only brought forward the launch date but also heightened its capabilities by adding AI to the equation, allowing for near real-time detection and earlier intervention for wildfires as small as 16x16 feet (about the size of a small room).
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🌳 Planet's new AI-driven Forest Carbon Monitoring lets you see both the forest and the trees, offering a detailed, three-meter resolution view of carbon stored in forests around the world—right down to individual branches.
🥾 Where traditional methods required boots on the ground and tape measures around tree trunks, Planet's AI now enables scalable, quarterly carbon monitoring from space. By combining satellite imagery and LiDAR data, the system aims to provide accurate, global coverage—useful for carbon markets and deforestation compliance efforts alike.
🔗 With new EU deforestation regulations set to take effect in December, Planet's new data offers companies a practical tool for compliance. Learn how this technology fits into regulatory efforts in Debra Werner's full SpaceNews article here!
| | | 🚀 OnAIR: NASA's Open-Source AI Takes Flight
NASA's SPAR Lab is advancing the role of autonomous AI in space with the Onboard Artificial Intelligence Research (OnAIR) platform. This open-source AI tool, tested on the NAMASTE mission, enables autonomous data gathering and decision-making, pushing spacecraft toward greater resilience and independence.
🌌 As mission complexity increases and distributed missions (where multiple spacecraft and rovers collaborate) become more common, tools like OnAIR could streamline operations and enhance mission capabilities. And since OnAIR is open-source, it paves the way for broader industry collaboration on AI-driven space exploration.
📡 Curious how OnAIR performed in its first tests? Read Debra Werner's full story for a deep dive.
| | | Clarification: AI Supercomputing and Environmental Impact
A couple of recent reports we published on AI's environmental impact landed us in hot water with a few of you, so we'd like to clear the air on a couple of points.
First, in our Bummer AI Fact of the Week, we highlighted the widely reported figure that each ChatGPT query uses the equivalent of a small bottle of water to stay cool. This statistic, sourced from UC Riverside and The Washington Post, highlights the negative externalities of large-scale AI models. However, many data centers use closed-loop systems that recycle water, so it's not as simple as a bottle of water being consumed with every email you rephrase. The environmental impact is real, but the water usage is part of a broader, more complex cycle.
As for Colossus, our reporting on the supercomputer's power demands mentioned that xAI installed 18 portable methane-fueled generators without air permits. What we should have said is that these generators are causing local concern because they're emitting pollutants. While they're operating within current regulations—thanks to their mobility and a 364-day permit exemption—both local groups and the EPA are reviewing the situation.
We appreciate your feedback and strive to provide the clearest, most accurate information possible. Let's keep the conversation going!
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About SpaceNext AI
SpaceNext AI is a SpaceNews weekly newsletter exploring how artificial intelligence is transforming the space industry. We provide concise and insightful coverage on AI's impact on space exploration and technology.
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