(Image credit: Space.com / Josh Dinner)

NASA has begun replacing references to artificial intelligence with "super intelligence" following an executive order from President Donald Trump, which directs government agencies not to acknowledge the terminology change in their external communications.

An internal NASA document obtained by Space.com lays out plans to update the agency's websites, publications, organizational titles and digital infrastructure with a four-phase "super intelligence" implementation schedule extending into December. And the changes go beyond NASA's public-facing communications, with at least one planned technical update described as "a breaking change" expected to disrupt existing software integrations.

The terminology shift arrives as NASA continues expanding its use of AI across missions and research programs, from autonomous Mars rover navigation to models capable of analyzing enormous amounts of scientific data.…