As we saw in NASA Put the rover on Mars Last month, it certainly seemed like the agency had to be used Some kind of high-Tech processor in his machine. There is a definite rover Citizens are built on something more powerful than the components of the devices they use, right? But wHill NASA Technically using a special processor Give power to the Perseverance Rover, it is not far from the world of consumer electronicsAbout 23 years ago.
NewScientific Reported that The Perseverance Rover is powered by a PowerPC 750 processor, used in Apple’s original 1998 iMac G3 – you remember, the iconic, colorful, see-through desktop. If the PowerPC name sounds familiar, it’s probably because it used the pulse used in its computers before switching to Intel. (Although now there is a company Back in the RISC train with its native M1 processor.)
PowerPC 750 Single-Compared to the core, 233 MHz processor, and multi-core, 5.0GHz-plus frequencies modern consumer chips can achieve, 233MHz is incredibly slow. But the 750 was the first to incorporate dynamic branch predictions, which are still used in modern processors today. Basically, educated guessing about what instructions the CPU will process as a way to improve CPU architecture efficiency. The more information processed, the better the chip is predictedTing what he needs to do next.
However, there is a big difference between the CPU of iMac and the inside of the Perseverance Rover. BAE Systems produces a radiation-hardened version of the PowerPC 750, dRAD750 supported, Which can withstand temperatures between 200,000 to 1,000,000 reds and temperatures between 55 and 125 degrees Celsius (-67 and 257 degrees Fahrenheit). Mars does not have an Earth-like atmosphere Protects us from the sun’s rays, so a glare of sunlight and it’s all over for the Mars rover before its adventure begins. EAch costs more than one , 000 200,000, so some extra protection is required.
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James L. Rosa of BAE Systems told New Scientist, “A charged particle run by a galaxy can pass through a device and cause destruction. “It can literally release electrons; It can cause electronic noise and signal spikes in the circuit. ”
Why use a processor old enough to remember when Eve 6 released its debut album? It has nothing to do with cost –It’s best for older processors because it’s reliable. NASAFor instance, the Orion spacecraft uses the same RAD750 processor.
“Comparison of [Intel] Core i5 in your laptop, it is very slow… iT is probably not faster than your smartphone, ”said Matt Lamke, NASA’s deputy manager of Orion’s Avionics. Said Space Review Back “But it’s not about speed as much as rigidity and reliability. I need to make sure it will always work.”
Given that, it’s fair that NASA Will pick up old technology over new content. After all, when you’re spending 7 2.7 billion To land a robot on Mars, It is important that your tech is reliable enough to test the time:Below the smallest soldered circuits. Currently, the RAD 750 powers up to 100 satellites orbiting the Earth, including GPS, imaging and weather data, as well as various military satellites. According to Larosa, none of them failed.
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