When did Tony Stark start working for NASA?

The space program has rolled out a cutting edge, artificial intelligence program — reminiscent of “Iron Man’s” J.A.R.V.I.S. interface — and it just might save a deep-space expedition in peril.

Meet ISAAC, short for Integrated System for Autonomous and Adaptive Caretaking, a machine-learning software program that connects space-age robots to a shuttle’s mainframe so they can self-perform tasks in ways not previously possible.

Currently being tested on the International Space Station, ISAAC will eventually pack its virtual bags for a trip to Mars, with preliminary steps slated for 2025.

“Our goal is to help protect astronauts’ safety … the robots may help the astronauts to become more productive as well,” Trey Smith, who’s been ISAAC’s project manager at the NASA Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley since its 2019 inception, told The Post.

And how does this newly functional, self-operational programming work? ISAAC needs a little help from his pals called the Astrobee and Robonaut. 

The Astrobees — cube-shaped, puppy-sized, free-flying supercomputers stationed aboard the ISS — have been installed with ISAAC’s payload to enhance their problem-solving capabilities. 

The cute robo-critters can even have “personalities” input, something that the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency has been allowing students to design, Smith told The Post.

When it comes to the nitty gritty, these busy bees float around the station, creating a three-dimensional mapping of the ISS, conducting independent inspections of the facility, and helping detect issues that would threaten a crew in real-time thanks to the new AI.

As for Robonaut, a massive “humanoid” machine with appendable arms and a cranium that’s the envy of Daft Punk, its new job is to go in and fix what the Astrobees detect is wrong, alongside mechanical tasks such as heavy lifting.

When the day finally comes that NASA’s Artemis program lands astronauts on Mars — a goal that’s still years off — ISAAC and company will be responsible for getting them home, Smith explained.

ISAAC will have a return vehicle “already orbiting Mars before the astronauts leave the Earth. You want to know that your ride back is going to be there before you arrive,” Smith said.

That return vessel would orbit the red planet for possibly years before the arrival of the astronauts, with ISAAC and its companion bots as its only inhabitants to keep things up and running.

Before reaching Mars, ISAAC will also see action on a major precursor assignment.

To make deep-space travel and long-term lunar surfacing more feasible, NASA is constructing an outpost that will orbit the moon called “Gateway.”

Upon the project’s completion, rolled back until at least 2025, Gateway plans to have live crew on board for less than two months out of the year, leaving the station mostly in the hands of ISAAC.

Both Robonaut and ISAAC can also expedite Gateway’s opening by picking up the “dull, dirty, dangerous tasks that you don’t want to have astronauts doing,” said Smith. 

By the time the astronauts’ move-in day arrives, ISAAC and Robonaut can have all of NASA’s space cargo already there, crossing off a huge box on the humans’ checklist, he said.

“We want the robot to be as autonomous as possible … in case they need to respond to a crisis,” Smith said.

In the instance of a micrometeorite striking a ship and causing an air leak, the bots could spring into action under the direction of ISAAC to harmoniously install a patch and save the day from the “time critical” threat.

Possibly the best part, ISAAC will likely pave the way for more AI bots to perform vital roles around Mars.

When asked if this is “Star Wars”-like technology, Smith said he and his NASA crew are “not supposed to endorse outside companies,” adding, “I’ll leave that judgment to you.”