The space sciences comprise the scientific disciplines related to the exploration and study of space, as well as more Earth-oriented fields such as remote sensing and atmospheric monitoring. Data generated by current and upcoming space missions will allow scientists to probe deeper into the cosmos, as well as gain new insights about our planet and how we shape it.

Artificial intelligence (AI) in the space sciences has been making headlines with increasing frequency, such as earlier this year when convolutional neural networks were used to classify the first image of a black hole. AI is becoming increasingly prevalent in the field of astrophysics in particular, where AI is being used to improve or replace existing algorithms, as well as to make novel new predictions. There are still many open questions, such as how to best employ existing AI techniques, how to quantify the uncertainty of observations and predictions, and—crucially—how to achieve physical insight from data-driven models.