Artificial intelligence software is in primary command of a spacecraft for the first time. This technology could allow us to pursue solar system exploration missions that only a few years ago would have been considered too elaborate, too costly or excessively dependent on teams of Earth-bound controllers. The planner takes general goals and determines detailed activities needed to achieve the goals. If a hardware problem develops that prevents execution of the plan, the planner makes a new plan, taking into account degraded capabilities. The executive interprets the plans and adds more detail to them, then issues commands to the flight software, coordinating the three parts of Remote Agent.
Some commands turn the spacecraft to point in different directions.
Other commands ask the onboard camera to take pictures of asteroids and stars for navigation purposes. Livingstone acts like a doctor, monitoring the spacecraft's health. If something goes wrong, Livingstone tells the executive there is a problem. For example, if the camera does not respond, a quick fix is to turn the camera off and then on again. If this does not work, the executive asks the planner for a new plan that still achieves mission goals.