Is NASA testing AI robots for astronauts?

Yes. In October 2026 Google Public Sector described a proof-of-concept robotic system built with NASA teams to handle cargo and assist with medical tasks on deep space missions.

What is NASA's Crew Medical Officer Digital Assistant?

An automated clinical decision support system built with Google Public Sector to give astronauts real-time medical guidance when communication with Earth is delayed.

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NASA, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, is the US civil space agency.

The Canadarm2 robotic arm holds a Cygnus XL cargo spacecraft above the Earth, with clouds and ocean below. — Google Cloud and NASA test a Pi0-driven robot for deep space crews, hitting 85% in the lab

Robotics & Physical AI27 Oct 2026, 09:00 UTC

Google Public Sector said on 27 October 2026 that a NASA robot prototype running a fine-tuned Pi0 model reached 85% baseline success on a lab task.

Summary

Google Public Sector said on 27 October 2026 that it built a proof-of-concept robotic system with NASA's Human Research Program, Johnson Space Center and JPL to help astronauts with cargo and medical tasks. A fine-tuned version of Physical Intelligence's open Pi0 model reached an initial 85% success rate on moving a medical bag in lab tests. Training took 2.5 hours on Google Cloud. Flight dates are not stated.

About NASA

NASA, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, is the US civil space agency. Its Artemis program aims to return astronauts to the Moon and prepare crewed missions to Mars. With Google Public Sector it has tested an AI medical assistant for crews and, in October 2026, a robotic system run by a vision-language-action model.

Reviewed 28 Oct 2026

Facts at a glance

Type: Independent agency of the US federal government
Headquarters: Washington, D.C., United States
Human spaceflight program: Artemis, with a planned Moon Base in the lunar South Pole region source
Robot test with Google Public Sector: 85% initial success on a pick-and-place task with a fine-tuned Pi0 model, October 2026 source
Units in the robot project: Human Research Program, Johnson Space Center Robotics Team, Jet Propulsion Laboratory source

Questions people ask

Is NASA testing AI robots for astronauts?: Yes. In October 2026 Google Public Sector described a proof-of-concept robotic system built with NASA teams to handle cargo and assist with medical tasks on deep space missions.
What is NASA's Crew Medical Officer Digital Assistant?: An automated clinical decision support system built with Google Public Sector to give astronauts real-time medical guidance when communication with Earth is delayed.

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Google Cloud and NASA test a Pi0-driven robot for deep space crews, hitting 85% in the lab