Human beings explore because they need to understand what lies beyond. We have done it by crossing oceans, climbing mountains and, for decades, sending machines to places where we cannot yet be. But a space mission has more to do than get there. For example, collecting data, interpreting it and sending it to Earth to do science. This is where the great challenge appears, because space requires computers capable of functioning for years in an environment that punishes electronics like few others.
High Performance Spaceflight Computing. This is the name of the response that NASA is preparing. According to the agencythe project seeks to develop together with Microchip Technology a new space processor capable of offering up to 100 times more computing capacity than current space computers. We are not talking about a chip designed for a laptop or a mobile phone, but rather a system on a chip, or SoC, called to be integrated, once certified for space flight, in future ships, orbiters, rovers, manned habitats and deep space missions.
SoC, a familiar term. This is the type of architecture that is common in our smartphones and tablets: small devices that concentrate essential elements of a computer in a single piece. The difference compared to an isolated processor is precisely there. An SoC is not limited to executing instructions, but can integrate CPUs, computing support units, advanced networks, memory, and input and output interfaces. On Earth we use it to gain efficiency and reduce size. In space, moreover, it has to survive.
The challenge. As we say, space punishes electronics in a way that we rarely see down here. According to NASA, a processor intended for real missions must withstand electromagnetic radiation, extreme temperature fluctuations and high-energy particles capable of altering the operation of the systems. We are not just talking about losing performance, but about errors that can force a ship to enter “safe mode”, with non-essential operations turned off until mission teams resolve the incident.
A key phase. Now comes the time to check if everything that is promised on paper holds up when taken to the physical field. JPL began testing in February and will maintain the campaign for several months, with radiation tests, thermal cycles, shocks and functional evaluations. The agency ensures that the processor is working as designed and adds a striking fact, although still within the framework of the tests: the first indications show that it operates with a performance 500 times higher than the radiation-hardened chips currently in use.
More autonomy away from home. Space exploration has a limit that is not resolved with a larger antenna: distance. Between Earth and Mars, ua signal may take a while between 3 and 22 minutes to travel in one direction, depending on the position of both planets in their orbits. That means we can’t drive a rover like someone drives a remote-controlled car. We have seen it in the Martian landings, the famous “seven minutes of terror”, when a ship enters, descends and lands, executing a choreography by itself that from Earth we can only know when it has already happened.
On-board computing. NASA proposes that this type of processor will allow future ships to use artificial intelligence to respond in real time to complex situations, analyze large volumes of data, store it and transmit it more quickly. Let’s remember the case of Perseverance which already combined orbital data of Mars, its panoramic camera and a Snapdragon 801 to compare what he saw with information obtained from space and refine his position on the Martian surface. If we want to continue exploring Mars and look further, we will need more and more systems capable of making decisions without always waiting for an order from Earth.
Technology that returns. The history of space exploration is also the history of ideas that are born to solve very specific problems and then find a place on Earth. In this case, NASA points to possible adaptations for sectors such as aviation and automotive, in potential uses such as drones, electrical networks, medical equipment, communication services, artificial intelligence and data transmission. It does not mean that we will see this processor in a consumer product tomorrow, but it does mean that the effort to make it more powerful, efficient, scalable and resistant can go beyond a ship on its way to deep space.
Images | POT
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