Thank you for logging in to the Deep Space 1 mission status information site, now ranked number 1 for over 200 days on the list of most popular sites in the solar system for information on this technology validation mission. This message was logged in at 8:15 pm Pacific Time on Monday, May 17.

Control of Deep Space 1 was turned over this morning from the operations team to an artificial intelligence system on board that is one of the advanced technologies being tested. This important step was taken with the transmission of a command to the spacecraft with the unimpressive name RX2DYX01 (or "Romeo X-ray 2 Delta Yankee X-ray 0 1"). Shortly after 11:00 am, the operations team received confirmation that the remote agent was in control. You can follow the remote agent's progress through a special Web site, and you can even get e-mail from the spacecraft during this 2-day experiment. The URL is below.

In contrast to remote control, remote agent consists of a sophisticated set of computer programs that act as an agent of the operations team on board the remote spacecraft. Rather than have humans do the detailed planning necessary to carry out desired tasks, remote agent formulates its own plans, using high level goals provided by the operations team. Remote agent devises its plan by combining those goals with its detailed knowledge of both the condition of the spacecraft and principles of how to operate it. It then executes that plan, constantly monitoring its progress. If problems develop, remote agent in many cases will be able to fix them or work around them. If it cannot, it can request help from its sentient terrestrial collaborators.

We've already seen this take place today. Remote agent did indeed develop a plan, and then it set about executing it. The plan included thrusting with the ion propulsion system and taking pictures of distant asteroids and stars for navigation, activities very familiar to the hundreds of trillions of faithful readers of these logs. But what remote agent did not know was that there were problems ahead. After it began executing its plan, it was confronted with a surprise, courtesy of the operations team. When remote agent tried to turn the camera off, it was unable to do so -- the camera was stuck in the on position. Remote agent tried several more times to turn it off, demonstrating its ability to attempt to correct a problem. But the camera remained on, so remote agent had to devise a new plan that accounted for the extra power consumption of the camera. It successfully generated a second plan and is now carrying it out. During this 48-hour experiment, remote agent will face other planned failures. And if, by chance, any unplanned failure occurs, remote agent will have a chance to handle it as well.

This powerful technology is the product of work by many experts at NASA's Ames Research Center and JPL, with important contributions from Carnegie-Mellon University. Remote agent, like all of the high-risk technologies that have now been tested on DS1, promises to make space exploration of the future more productive and more exciting while staying within NASA's limited budget. By transferring functions normally performed by people to the remote agent, a spacecraft may be more agile in responding to unexpected situations it encounters. In addition, if NASA is to achieve its goal of launching many more spacecraft into the solar system without spending more money, it will be necessary to have the Deep Space Network, NASA's worldwide network of stations used to communicate with probes in deep space, devote less time to communicating with each one. By carrying out some of the work humans now perform, remote agent will permit spacecraft to fulfill their missions without much of the time-consuming communications, thus allowing the Deep Space Network to serve more spacecraft.

To follow the progress of the remote agent as it controls the DS1 spacecraft, visit http://rax.arc.nasa.gov. You can even register to have e-mail sent to you as the spacecraft conducts its activities.

If all goes well, this experiment will conclude Wednesday morning, and a brief remote agent experiment will be conducted later in the week. Your loyal correspondent will update this log by May 23 with a summary of how the remote agent performed after today's very successful beginning.

Meanwhile, the spacecraft is on course for a July 29 interception of an asteroid with the evocative yet unassuming name 1992 KD. The bold encounter, while not a critical part of the mission, will allow a very challenging final test of a portion of DS1's autonomous navigation system. In addition, the event offers the bonus opportunity to return exciting scientific data using the two advanced science instruments DS1 has tested. JPL and The Planetary Society are conducting a contest to select a better name, if that's possible, for this asteroid. The contest is at http://www.planetary.org/news/contest-ds1.html.

Deep Space 1 is now more than three-quarters as far as the Sun and over 313 times farther than the moon. At this distance of 120 million kilometers, or more than 74 million miles, radio signals, traveling at the universal limit of the speed of light, take over 13 minutes to make the round trip.

Thanks again for logging in.