NASA orders Mars Curiosity rover to change brain

While the Opportunity rover is yet to come out of his sleep induced by dustNASA performed digital brain surgery on Curiosity.

Since September 15th, the Curiosity rover, originally launched in 2012, encountered some technical problems. It is difficult to send back to Earth much of the scientific and technical data collected. This hiccup saw Jet Propulsion Laboratory engineers decide to switch to Curiosity's second brain.

Curiosity has two computers – which NASA affectionately called "brains" – on board, as redundant systems are important for exploring far-away countries, of course. The problem with the "B side" computer, JPL engineers have switched to side A. This will allow them to diagnose exactly what is causing Curiosity trouble.

Face A was the "brain" used by Curiosity when it landed on the red planet in 2012. Soil 200, which is nearly 2,000 soils, went to face B because of hardware and software issues. Curiosity pushed to ignore his battery's exhausted.

"We are working on A side as of today, but it may take time for us to fully understand the root cause of the problem and find workarounds for B-side memory," said Steven Lee. deputy project manager of Curiosity.

Although it is possible to continue its mission exclusively using the A side, once the problem solved and resolved, JPL will look to get back to the B side as this computer has a memory Meme it much bigger.

The months have not been particularly favorable for the Martian rovers. With the mammoth dust storm that has settled In early June, over the planet, blocking the sunlight, NASA's other aircraft – Opportunity – was in hibernation. The organization remains hopeful that the possibility of will be online soon. The prospects of Curiosity are much better, but it will take time to fully understand what keeps the mobile from storing and sending data.

NASA is 60 years old: the space agency has pushed humanity further than anyone and plans to go further.

Take it to the extreme: mix crazy situations – eruptive volcanic eruptions, nuclear collapses, 30-foot waves – with everyday technologies. This is what happens.