The Perseverance rover on Mars has a 20-year-old processor. Reported by New Scientist.
According to the publication, the rover is based on the PowerPC 750 chip. This is the processor of the 700 series launched in the late 1990s. Manufactured according to the 250 process technology, the device has one core, about one million transistors, and a frequency of 233 megahertz. The PowerPC 750 is paired with the iMac G3, released by Apple in November 1997.
The material says that the criticism of Perseverance engineers is unfounded – they allegedly, for some reason, could not find a more advanced chip. The experts explained that the rover is based on a special version of the PowerPC 750, which is shielded from radiation. “Most likely, this processor is not faster than your smartphone, but first of all there is no question of speed,” – reporters quoted NASA spokesman Matt Lemke.
In particular, the processor installed in the rover can operate in the temperature range from -25 to 125 degrees Celsius. The authors emphasized that when building a $ 2.7 billion rover, it makes sense to choose the most reliable and time-tested components. The PowerPC 750 was also installed in the Curiosity rover, which began operations on the planet in August 2012.
On February 22, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) showed a video of the Perseverance rover landing on Mars. The successful landing of the rover on the Red Planet took place on the night of February 19.
