Building AI-Ready Data Systems for Space Life Sciences, Aerospace Medicine, and Deep Space Exploration

Sylvain V. Costes, Sergio Garcia Busto, Ryan T. Scott, James A. Casaletto, Gautier Bardi de Fourtou, Brian M. Evarts, Amanda M. Saravia-Butler, Xavier-Lewis Palmer, Rodrigo Coutinho de Almeida, Laetitia Frost, Jelena Tešić, Afshin Beheshti, Christopher E. Mason, Peter W. Rose, Sergio E. Baranzini, Lauren M. Sanders, Stefania Giacomello, Pedro Madrigal

While AI holds the potential to revolutionize space life sciences, realizing this promise is contingent upon the systematic restructuring of heterogeneous spaceflight biological data into machine-actionable, AI-ready forms. Even though open access principles support human reuse and scientific reproducibility, this does not necessarily enable AI systems to access and analyze such a diverse set of scientific datasets. In addition, the growing array of AI approaches places distinct demands on data structure, metadata, and access interfaces. In order to respond to such growing changes we propose a three-tier approach, proceeding from FAIR to AI-ready to space-ready data. We discuss existing infrastructures and how they can be improved to close the AI access gap. We conclude by proposing a neutral international coordinating body as the governance backbone for the trustworthy, agent-accessible space biology infrastructure that deep space biological research will require.