The latest addition to China’s Tiangong space station is an AI chatbot focused on navigation and tactical planning. Named Wukong AI, after Sun Wukong from the “Monkey King” tale in Chinese folklore, the chatbot was integrated into the space station in mid-July and has already accomplished its first objective: aiding three taikonauts during a spacewalk.
Information regarding Wukong AI is limited. Chinese authorities have revealed that it was created from a homegrown open-source AI model. As reported by Xinhua, China’s state-operated news agency, engineers customized it to cater to the requirements of manned space missions, concentrating its expertise on aerospace flight data.
“This system can deliver swift and effective informational support for complicated operations and fault resolution by crew members, enhancing work efficiency, in-orbit psychological assistance, and collaboration between space and ground teams,” Zou Pengfei from the taikonaut training center informed Xinhua.
The AI was connected to Tiangong on July 15 and started providing assistance a month later. This signifies the first occasion China’s space station has utilized a large language model (LLM) during in-orbit activities. Wukong AI aided the crew on a six-and-a-half-hour operation, which involved taikonauts setting up space debris protection systems during a spacewalk and performing a standard station inspection.
The taikonauts state that their new aide “provides very thorough content.” Chinese press outlets characterize Wukong AI as a conventional question-and-answer system with two components: one on the station and another on Earth. The ground component conducts thorough analyses, while the onboard component handles immediate issues. Together, they create a sophisticated assistant customized for each mission.
Wukong is not the inaugural AI system in space nor the first on a station. The International Space Station is already equipped with Astrobee, a robot assisting astronauts with ordinary tasks, and CIMON, a conversational psychological support tool. Wukong AI’s distinctiveness lies in its integration of intelligent assistant capabilities with a dedicated emphasis on space navigation.
The Tiangong station is pivotal to China’s strategy to position itself as a space power over the next three decades. It currently serves as a microgravity laboratory for experiments that are unfeasible on Earth. China intends to develop it into an intermediary logistics and training center between the moon and Earth’s surface.
The AI’s appellation is inspired by Sun Wukong, a legendary character from the classic novel Journey to the West, representing cleverness, adaptability, resilience, and the pursuit of knowledge.
