NASA Puts Google’s Gemma Large Language Model in Orbit
TL;DR
Whether orbital data centres will ever host the largest LLMs remains contested, but language models are already proving useful in space. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory sent Google's Gemma 3 into orbit, achieving the first in-orbit demonstration of a vision-language model analysing imagery from a satellite's own sensor. The system, NAVI-Orbital, processed images captured by a YAM-9 satellite built by Loft Orbital — a sign that satellites could operate far more autonomously in future.
Nauti's Take
A small but genuine breakthrough: a vision-language model analysing satellite imagery on board instead of beaming it down first, saving bandwidth and time where both are scarce. The limit is obvious — a Gemma 3 in orbit replaces no data centre, and misclassifications are hard to correct up there.
Nauti's take: most promising for earth observation and disaster response, less so as a blueprint for large-scale orbital AI.
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