(Image Credit: NASA)

So Nasa is finally re-upgrading it's very old spaceflight chips.


NASA has selected Microchip Technology to develop a High-Performance Spaceflight Computing (HPSC)  processor it says will provide at least 100 times the computational capacity of current spaceflight computers. 

NASA's spaceflight computing may be in dire need of an upgrade, as current systems "were developed almost 30 years ago" according to Wesley Powell, NASA’s principal technologist for advanced avionics, and "future NASA missions demand significantly increased onboard computing capabilities and reliability".

Microchip Technology, based in Chandler, Arizona, specializes in the manufacture of microcontroller, mixed-signal, analog, and Flash-IP integrated circuits and has been in operation for over 30 years.


How will this upgrade/project will run?


Over the following three years, Microchip will endeavor to build and produce the HPSC processor with the intention of using the processor on next lunar and planetary exploration missions.

The project will be completed with major research and development costs from Microchip under a $50 million firm-fixed-price contract.

According to reports, the new processor design from Microchip allows processing power to "ebb and flow" in accordance with operational needs. This means that specific processing capabilities can be disabled when not in use to save electricity.

According to NASA, the capacity will significantly reduce energy consumption and boost overall computing effectiveness for space missions.

The new processor might also be used for things here on earth.

According to NASA, the new technology may also be helpful for Earth-based commercial systems that require edge computing that is mission-critical and needs to be able to operate securely even if a component fails.

Industrial automation, time-sensitive Ethernet data transmission, artificial intelligence, and even Internet of Things gateways, which connect numerous communication technologies, are reportedly some of these prospective applications.

Since NASA just installed Azure Quantum as part of a mission to cut the time it takes to communicate instructions between spacecraft from hours to just minutes, high-performance computing is certainly on NASA's radar.

Conclusion:-

NASA has chosen Arizona-based Microchip Technology, known for its PIC brand of microprocessors and created in the 1980s, to develop its next-generation space chip. Over a three-year period, the $50 million contract will finance Microchip's efforts to develop and produce the so-called High-Performance Spaceflight Computing (HPSC) CPU. The chip's architecture should be dependable, able to function with greater fault tolerance, and far more powerful, according to NASA.

A wide variety of applications, including as artificial intelligence (AI), edge computing, Ethernet data transmission, and other communication systems, must be supported by the processor design. Microchip will need to consider how the chip can be modified to run any kind of mission, whether it be one that explores Mars, keeps an eye on Earth, or even one that helps support astronauts.

Babak Samimi, corporate vice president for Microchip's Communications business unit, beamingly said, "We are thrilled that NASA selected Microchip as its partner to develop the next-generation space-qualified compute processor platform.

"To benefit a new generation of mission-critical edge compute designs optimized for size, weight, and power, we will foster an industry-wide ecosystem of single board computer partners anchored on the HPSC processor and Microchip's complementary space-qualified total system solutions," the company said.