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Gamers help ESA's AI spot more than 3,000 Moon craters in one small patch
In brief
The European Space Agency (ESA) has shown off an artificial intelligence model that found 3,192 possible craters, from about 6 to 180 metres across, in a single 1.25 by 1.27 kilometre patch of the Moon. The model learned what craters look like from examples marked by players of ESA's free IMPACT game, in which people build a lunar base and mark craters on real images from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter to earn resources.
Why map tiny craters?
The Moon's surface is covered in craters, and even small ones can be a hazard for a spacecraft trying to land. To find safe touchdown zones, mission planners need maps of craters from the largest down to the smallest. NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has been photographing the Moon since 2009 and has produced millions of images, far too many for people to check by hand. AI can do the job quickly, but first it needs reliable examples to learn from, and ESA says there was no good public database of small lunar craters.
Where the gamers come in
In IMPACT, players build and run their own Moon base, and a minigame asks them to mark craters on real satellite pictures. ESA used those player labels to train and test its model, with a training set of 672 image tiles of 512 by 512 pixels. "Each crater marked by an IMPACT player is a small but important contribution to mapping the Moon," said Patrick Bauer, a PhD student working on the project. ESA says the model is still being developed: old craters with worn-down rims are hard to spot, and the team will test whether 3D terrain data can help.
VSH take: We love this one, because it turns gaming time into real science. Most people think games and research live in different worlds, but projects like this show that thousands of players marking a few craters each can build something no small team could. If you enjoy space, play our Sky Strike 3D or Astro Quest games, test yourself with the space quiz, or look down at Earth on our Live Earth from Space page.
ViralScopeHub is an independent news summary site and is not affiliated with ESA or NASA. See the original ESA page for full details.
Why it matters
Detailed crater maps help pick safe landing spots for future Moon missions, and crowdsourcing through a game lets the public help build the data AI needs.
People also ask
How many craters did ESA's AI find?
It detected 3,192 potential craters, about 6 to 180 metres across, in a 1.25 by 1.27 km patch of the Moon near 44.12°N, 307.80°E.
What is the IMPACT game?
A free ESA game where players build a lunar base and, in a minigame, mark craters on real Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter images. Their marks help train the AI.
Why are Moon craters important for missions?
Craters, even small ones, can make landing dangerous, so detailed maps help planners find safe places to touch down.
Related free tools: Sunrise & Sunset, World Clock
Sources
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