Frontier Development Lab Transforms Space and Earth Science for NASA with Google Cloud Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning Technology

Frontier Development Lab’s goal is to apply synergies between physics, simulation and machine learning to problems important to space science and humanity

August 26, 2021, Mountain View, Calif., Frontier Development Lab (FDL), in partnership with the SETI Institute, NASA and private sector partners including Google Cloud, are transforming space and Earth science through the application of industry-leading artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) tools.

FDL tackles knowledge gaps in space science by pairing ML experts with researchers in physics, astronomy, astrobiology, planetary science, space medicine and Earth science. These researchers have utilized Google Cloud compute resources and expertise since 2018, specifically AI / ML technology, to address research challenges in areas like astronaut health, lunar exploration, exoplanets, heliophysics, climate change and disaster response.

With access to compute resources provided by Google Cloud, FDL has been able to increase the typical ML pipeline by more than 700 times in the last five years, facilitating new discoveries and improved understanding of our planet, solar system and the universe. Throughout this period, Google Cloud’s Office of the CTO (OCTO) has provided ongoing strategic guidance to FDL researchers on how to optimize AI / ML , and how to use compute resources most efficiently.