--- title: "Scientists Want to Use AI to Hunt for Aliens on Mars" description: "According to a new study, AI tools might seriously improve humanity's chances of discovering aliens on Mars — and beyond." date: "2023-03-09" modified: "2023-03-09" authors: - name: "Maggie Harrison Dupré" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/mharrison" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/scientists-ai-hunt-aliens-mars" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" - "Astronomy" - "Exobiology" - "Mars" - "Space" tags: - "ai" - "mars" - "SETI" - "the digest" --- # Scientists Want to Use AI to Hunt for Aliens on Mars ![According to a new study, AI tools might seriously improve humanity's chances of discovering aliens on Mars — and beyond.]() *\Image: Getty / Futurism\* ## AIlien Hunter In a [new study](), a group of NASA-affiliated researchers suggests we could train an AI to look for biosignatures on Mars — and thereby improve our chances of discovering life on the Red Planet and beyond. "In the search for biosignatures on Mars, there is an abundance of data from orbiters and rovers to characterize global and regional habitability, but much less information is available at the scales and resolutions of microbial habitats and biosignatures," the researchers write in the study, which was published this week in the journal *Nature Astronomy.* These machine-learning models could discover "recognizable and predictable patterns" that could point us in the right direction in our search for life on other planets. ## Red Rover The scientists trained the AI on the terrain of the intensely dry and hot Atacama Desert in Chile, which may not necessarily be inhabitable. But it's certainly inhospitable, and due to its "fractal-like ridge networks, patterned ground and shrinkage crack terrains of abiotic and/or biotic origin," as the researchers wrote in the study, it's one of the most Mars-like environments on Earth. Per the study, the researchers used a variety of data including "HiRISE data to ground surveys, spectroscopy, and biosignature mapping" to create a dataset for the AI program. Their goal was to train the AI to recognize which specific locations on the map might have the highest probability of supporting life. And it worked astonishingly well. The AI was able to successfully locate life-supporting biosignatures, when present, with 56.9 to 87.5 percent accuracy. Humans, in contrast, had a success rate of less than 10 percent. Though this is still a proof-of-concept study, the hope is that NASA will be able to one day integrate this type of program into their interplanetary rovers — potentially enhancing their ability to spot life. **READ MORE:** [*This New AI-Tool Could Hunt for Life on Mars*]() \[*Vice*\] **More on SETI tools:** [*NASA Unveils Plan for Giant Telescope to Spot Life on Alien Planets*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've reported extensively on the rise of AI as a cultural and business force shaping the media industry, and more broadly how those dynamics are changing how we all consume and share information and relate to one another. I'm also fascinated by public health policy and ethics, the role of emerging tech in politics and governance — and the powerful people and forces at those intersections — climate change, and the environment. My investigation on Sports Illustrated's use of AI-generated authors with fictional biographies won a 2024 Mirror Award for "Best Story on Media Coverage of Artificial Intelligence in Journalism and the Media" from Syracuse University's SI Newhouse School, I contributed to Niemen Lab's 2025 Predictions for Journalism series, and I've discussed my work for Futurism during appearances on NPR, CNN, the BBC, the CBC, and more. I grew up in rural Pennsylvania and attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where I played Division I field hockey for the Minutewomen as a midfielder. Since then, I've lived in New Orleans, Louisiana and Manhattan, New York. I spend my free time running, reading, perusing archival fashion, and searching for the world’s best negroni. I also have a debonair tuxedo cat, Westley, who's named after "The Princess Bride." ### Author social links [Bluesky]()