NASA is upgrading its computers for future space missions

• NASA has chosen Microchip Technology to make a High-Performance Space mission Computing (HPSC) processor.
• The processor will be at least 100 times more powerful than the spaceflight computers we have now.
• It could be used for mission-critical edge computing in business systems on Earth.

NASA has chosen Microchip Technology to make a High-Performance Space mission Computing (HPSC) processor. NASA says this processor will be at least 100 times more powerful than the spaceflight computers we have now.

Wesley Powell, NASA’s senior technologist for advanced avionics, says present systems “were developed almost 30 years ago” and “future NASA missions demand significantly increased onboard computing capabilities and reliability.”

Microchip Technology, based in Chandler, Arizona, manufactures microcontroller, mixed-signal, analogue, and Flash-IP integrated circuits.

How will the project work?

In the next three years, Microchip will make the HPSC processor for future missions to the moon and other planets.

The microchip will provide major R&D to the $50 million firm-fixed-price deal.

According to reports, Microchip’s new processor architecture lets processing power “ebb and flow” depending on how it is being used. This means that certain operations can be turned off when they are not being used, which saves power.

NASA believes the feature will conserve energy and increase space mission processing efficiency.

The new processor could have earthly uses.

NASA says that the new technology could be useful for business systems on Earth that need mission-critical edge computing and must keep running even if a part breaks.

Industrial automation, time-sensitive ethernet data transmission, AI, and Internet of Things gateways, which bridge communication protocols, are potential uses.

NASA just installed Azure Quantum to cut the time it takes to communicate spaceship instructions from hours to minutes.

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