Crew Agent
Crew Agent—an intelligent scheduling assistant that helps astronauts manage their daily tasks efficiently while maintaining autonomy. The Crew Agent continuously analyzes individual crew preferences, detects potential scheduling conflicts, and suggests optimal time slots for various activities. This enables astronauts to adjust their schedules dynamically while ensuring that both mission objectives and personal well-being are balanced.
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Problem
Long-duration space missions, such as missions to Mars or deep-space exploration, pose significant challenges to astronaut autonomy. Unlike missions in Low Earth Orbit, where ground control can intervene frequently, deep-space missions and long duration space missions require astronauts to operate with greater independence due to delayed communication with mission control. This is where crew autonomy becomes a crucial factor in mission success.
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Astronauts follow strict schedules that define their daily activities, from scientific experiments to exercise, meal breaks, and rest periods. However, in missions where communication delays with Earth are inevitable, astronauts must make real-time decisions about their schedules without immediate guidance from mission control. This requires a balance between structure and flexibility, ensuring that tasks are completed efficiently while allowing astronauts to maintain a healthy work-rest cycle.
Solution
Crew Agent—an intelligent scheduling assistant that helps astronauts manage their daily tasks efficiently while maintaining autonomy.
Decision-Making Framework
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The goal of the POC is to validate whether an AI-powered assistant can successfully assist astronauts in self-scheduling while minimizing conflicts. This framework serves as a testing ground where we simulate real-world scenarios—ensuring that the Crew Agent can analyze preferences, resolve schedule overlaps, and suggest optimized routines.
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First, we collect astronaut preferences using a structured input system—such as a Google Form—where crew members enter their preferred times for activities like work, exercise, and meals. This data is then processed and structured into a schedule format, which serves as the foundation for decision-making.
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Once the schedule data is collected, Crew Agent scans for potential time conflicts between individual and group activities. If a conflict is detected—such as two crew members wanting to use the exercise equipment at the same time—the system suggests alternative time slots. Additionally, the agent may ask the crew for clarification, such as the duration of a given activity, to ensure optimal scheduling.
