Google and NASA team up on a robot helper for deep space crews

Google is working with NASA to develop a robotic assistant that could help astronauts cope with medical emergencies and everyday chores on long-distance spaceflights, according to TechRadar. The effort is still at the experimental stage.

The partners involved include Google Cloud, NASA's Human Research Program, the robotics group at Johnson Space Center and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The machine is meant to back up the crew's medical officer rather than take over from that person.

Jim Kelly, Google's public sector vice president, said a crew travelling to Mars could face operational difficulties, among them communication delays of as much as 44 minutes for a round trip. Those gaps would make it harder to get quick guidance from Earth during a medical crisis, which raises the value of resources carried aboard the spacecraft.

The robot would take on hands-on jobs so that diagnosis and treatment stay with humans. In one example, a crew member with severe back pain that might point to kidney stones could ask for an ultrasound, with the robot fetching and setting up the gear and helping to position it while the medical officer reads the images and decides what to do.

The project follows earlier work by the two organisations on an AI tool for medical support, which they have been assessing since 2025. That system was designed to help crews evaluate health problems when long distances and slow communications make it hard to reach doctors on Earth straight away.

Google is also adapting navigation technology from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory so the robot can find its way around and track down equipment. The team has tested movement and object handling in DeepMind's MuJoCo physics simulator before trying harder tasks.

Kelly said the robot located and moved a medical bag successfully in 85% of early laboratory trials. That figure covers a fairly simple retrieval job and says nothing about whether the system can carry out examinations or handle complex emergencies.

When medical help is not required, the machine is expected to move cargo, tidy tools, secure compartments and handle routine upkeep, freeing a small crew to use its time better. Google has called the work a proof of concept, with early lab demonstrations finished but no confirmed integrated robot ready for space. NASA has declined to give details, saying it is reviewing a range of advanced AI projects with partners for potential future missions.