NASA and IBM Deploy Prithvi AI Model in Orbit
news9live.com
Monday, May 11, 2026
- •NASA and IBM deployed the Prithvi foundation model into orbit
- •Prithvi operates directly on two satellites currently circling Earth
- •This is the first orbital deployment of a geospatial foundation model
NASA and IBM have successfully deployed the Prithvi geospatial foundation model onto two satellites in orbit. This marks the first time an AI model specifically designed for geospatial data analysis has been operated directly from space.
The model leverages edge AI (processing data locally on hardware rather than on centralized cloud servers) to analyze information in real-time while in orbit. By functioning as an open-source foundation model (AI trained on vast, broad datasets and adaptable to many downstream tasks), the system processes geospatial data (information tied to specific Earth locations) directly on the spacecraft.