Autonomous Spacecraft

Autonomous spacecraft research aims to develop spacecraft capable of independent operation and decision-making, reducing reliance on continuous ground control for complex missions. Current efforts focus on integrating large language models (LLMs) and deep reinforcement learning (DRL) for onboard control and navigation, often leveraging simulated environments and synthetic datasets for training and validation. This field is crucial for enabling more ambitious space exploration, particularly in deep space and for managing large constellations, by improving efficiency, safety, and the feasibility of complex tasks like rendezvous, docking, and planetary landing.