Page 1 of 2

Mars Rover brain

Posted: Fri Feb 19, 2021 1:45 am
by wove
I have no idea what OS it might be running, but here are the specs on the Mars Rovers brain:

Processor:
Radiation-hardened central processor with PowerPC 750 Architecture: a BAE RAD 750. Operates at up to 200 megahertz speed

Memory:
2 gigabytes of flash memory
256 megabytes of dynamic random access memory
256 kilobytes of electrically erasable programmable read-only memory

More at <https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/spacecraft/rover/brains/>

Re: Mars Rover brain

Posted: Fri Feb 19, 2021 2:45 pm
by tlmiller
WOW...Power PC 3!!! Not even a modern implementation of PPC. When you set and think about it, it's amazing how slowly things evolve in that sector due to the special requirements.

Re: Mars Rover brain

Posted: Sat Feb 20, 2021 5:16 pm
by crosscourt
Been watching some of the pictures that have come back and its amazing. Cant wait for the helicopter to show us a much wider view.

Re: Mars Rover brain

Posted: Sun Feb 21, 2021 5:32 pm
by crosscourt
Saw more pictures today and the sky crane and landscape pics are astounding. Ever since I saw the pics from the Mariner missions many years ago Ive been fascinated by Mars and what may have been a livable planet at one time.

Re: Mars Rover brain

Posted: Mon Feb 22, 2021 3:20 am
by tlmiller
More and more as we learn about Mars, it starts to look like it wasn't a "might" and instead is "was" a livable planet.

Re: Mars Rover brain

Posted: Mon Feb 22, 2021 10:23 pm
by crosscourt
Im hoping to see some trace of a past organism this time around.

Re: Mars Rover brain

Posted: Tue Feb 23, 2021 3:09 am
by tlmiller
I think it would be AMAZING to find, but the chances of finding it, even if it HAD managed to evolve single cellular life on the planet, with a single rover, is incredibly low.

Re: Mars Rover brain

Posted: Tue Feb 23, 2021 5:28 pm
by crosscourt
They at least may be able to discover living processes even if they dont find an organism remnant.

Re: Mars Rover brain

Posted: Wed Feb 24, 2021 1:47 pm
by tlmiller
Yes, anything's possible, it's just that it's still a very small likelihood with only a single rover to do it.

Re: Mars Rover brain

Posted: Fri Mar 05, 2021 3:56 pm
by crosscourt
The recent pictures have been amazing and the resolution is well beyond what Ive experienced from other probes going all the way back to Mariner.