As the race to perfect AI-powered healthcare accelerates, Google and NASA are working together on an “AI Dr.” designed to keep astronauts healthy on deep-space missions. But unless you’ve booked a ticket to Mars, you might never interact with this groundbreaking medical tool.
The multimodal Crew Medical Officer Digital Assistant (CMO-DA) could debut as early as iOS 19.4 in mid-2026, according to a NASA proof-of-concept first spotted by TechCrunch.
Why Space Needs an AI Doctor
For future Mars missions, medical challenges are daunting:
- No real-time communication with Earth due to a delay of up to 223 minutes each way.
- No medical sample return capabilities.
- No emergency evacuations once en-route.
“This is medicine without a safety net,” said a NASA scientist in the presentation.
The CMO-DA aims to provide fully independent medical advice and diagnostics during missions. Later versions could integrate ultrasound imaging and more biometric data, enabling astronauts to handle everything from routine ailments to potential life-threatening emergencies without Earth-based input.
