NASA turns to artificial intelligence to unlock the mysteries of dark energy

Tuesday 15 September 2026 - 19:21

By: Azzat Manal

NASA turns to artificial intelligence to unlock the mysteries of dark energy

NASA is expanding its use of artificial intelligence in astronomy through a new initiative designed to improve the way scientists analyze data collected by space telescopes and distinguish genuine astronomical signals from distortions appearing in celestial images.

The U.S. space agency has launched the “Artifact InSPECtor” initiative, which is currently working with real observations gathered by the European Space Agency’s Euclid space telescope. The project aims to train artificial intelligence systems to identify artifacts and false signals that could interfere with the interpretation of astronomical images and datasets.

Space telescopes can encounter a range of technical and environmental effects during observations, producing shapes or signals that do not correspond to actual celestial objects. These artifacts can result from light reflections within telescope components, cosmic rays striking sensors, as well as other effects associated with cameras and electronic systems.

The project focuses on teaching AI models to recognize and filter out such distortions without confusing them with genuine stars, galaxies and other astronomical objects. Making this distinction accurately is essential because astronomers rely on these observations to study the structure and evolution of the universe.

Beyond simply processing images, the initiative also involves refining the instructions used to guide AI systems during the analysis of astronomical data. NASA expects this approach to improve accuracy and efficiency while reducing the time required to process the enormous volumes of information generated by modern space missions.

The initiative is expected to enter a new phase in early 2027, when the training and development of the AI systems will be expanded to include observations from NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope.

Combining Roman’s observations with data from ESA’s Euclid mission could significantly broaden astronomical research, particularly efforts to understand how the universe has evolved and why its expansion is accelerating.

The work is especially relevant to the study of dark energy, one of the greatest unresolved questions in modern cosmology. Scientists believe this mysterious component of the universe is associated with the accelerating expansion of space, although its precise nature remains unknown.

As modern telescopes continue to generate vast quantities of observations, NASA is increasingly turning to AI to identify important signals and extract useful scientific information at a scale that would be difficult to achieve through traditional analysis alone.

By combining advanced machine learning with observations from major space missions, researchers hope to gain more precise tools for investigating the universe’s structure, history and possible future.