NASA JPL's AI Model Makes History Running Autonomously on Orbit Satellite

Executive Briefing

• Achieved first-ever deployment of a vision-language model in orbit aboard Loft Orbital's Yam-9 satellite in April
• Powered by Google DeepMind's Gemma 3, the system responds to natural language queries to identify features in satellite imagery
• Reduces data overload by triaging sensor data onboard, cutting the volume analysts must process on the ground
• Enables persistent monitoring capabilities, such as border surveillance or infrastructure tracking, with real-time satellite interaction
• Planet Labs and Kepler Communications signal broader industry adoption of onboard AI is already underway
• Loft estimates 50–100 satellites needed for real-time global coverage; currently operates 12