Amazon's Alexa will help fly the Artemis 1 mission to the moon

Lockheed Martin has integrated Amazon's Alexa and Cisco's Webex into its new Callisto technology riding aboard the Artemis 1 moon mission.

Callisto is a new far-field technology demonstration, incorporating artificial intelligence with Alexa and video conferencing capabilities from a custom build of Webex. The technology has been created by Lockheed Martin, the prime contractor for NASA's Orion spacecraft, which will fly to the moon as part of the Artemis 1 mission.

Using NASA's Deep Space Network, Callisto will test Alexa's ability to run without an internet connection and the viability of Webex. Alexa will provide information about the spacecraft, such as telemetry data, orientation, water supply levels, battery voltage, and more. Alexa will also be able to control some onboard settings like temperature or the color of the lights.

"Callisto will demonstrate a first-of-its-kind technology that could be used in the future to enable astronauts to be more self-reliant as they explore deep space," said Lisa Callahan, vice president and general manager of commercial civil space for Lockheed Martin.