IBM is launching a new open source AI model to get NASA back to the Moon — and making petabytes of lunar data available to study
IBM will help NASA researchers analyze decades of lunar observation data
by https://www.techradar.com/author/mike-moore · TechRadarNews By Mike Moore Published 10 September 2026
Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter
- IBM and NASA launch open source AI model to help further lunar research
- Researchers will be able to better analyze petabytes of Moon data from last five decades
- IBM and NASA also release dataset for public usage and analysis
IBM has launched a new open source AI model it hopes will help spur on NASA researchers in their push to get humanity back to the Moon.
The new NASA-IBM Lunar Foundation model, available on Hugging Face, will allow researchers to analyze decades of lunar observation data, and identify geological features that are critical to understand for NASA as it looks to build a sustained human presence on the Moon.
The model has been trained by IBM and NASA researchers on a huge, multimodal NASA dataset, which will also be released alongside the model, providing wider access to the latest advanced AI systems in a bid to push on wider progress in lunar exploration.
Latest Videos FromTechRadarWatch full video here:
To the Moon (and beyond)
At its most obvious level, the model will allow a much easier way for researchers to study petabytes of data gathered on the Moon's surface for potentially hazardous locations such as ice deposits or craters.
Currently, scientists often rely on manual analysis or low-resolution, task-specific AI models, which can be not only computationally demanding, but also often lack the accuracy needed for detailed geographic analysis.
The new release will now mean that instead of needing to build a new AI model for every potential issue, scientists can now adapt a single foundation model to investigate a range of lunar geologic features.
The model has already proved useful, identifying craters and volcanic features far more accurately (see below) and significantly reducing errors in locating potential ice deposits.
Are you a pro? Subscribe to our newsletter
Sign up to the TechRadar Pro newsletter to get all the top news, opinion, features and guidance your business needs to succeed!
Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors