Comparison of embedded computer systems on board the Mars rovers

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The embedded computer systems onboard Mars rovers are designed to withstand high radiation levels and large temperature changes in space. For this reason their computational resources are limited compared to systems commonly used on Earth. [1]

Contents

In operation

Direct teleoperation of a Mars rover is impractical, as the round trip communication time between Earth and Mars ranges from 8 to 42 minutes and the Deep Space Network system is only available a few times during each Martian day (sol). [1] Therefore, a rover command team plans, then sends, a sol of operational commands to the rover at one time. [1]

A rover uses autonomy software to make decisions based on observations from its sensors. [1] Each pair of stereo images for the Sojourner rover could generate 20 3D navigation points. The Mars Exploration Rovers can generate 15,000 (nominal) to 40,000 (survey mode) 3D points. [1]

Performance comparisons

With the exception of Curiosity and Perseverance , each Mars rover has had only one on-board computer. Both Curiosity and Perseverance have two identical computers for redundancy. Curiosity is, as of February 2013, operating on its redundant computer, while its primary computer is being investigated for signs of failure. [2] [ needs update ]

Comparison of embedded computer systems on board the Mars rovers
Landing
year
Rover (mission, organization) CPUs RAM Flash EEPROM Operating system CPU time available for the autonomy software
1997 Sojourner rover (Pathfinder, NASA) [1] [3] [4] [5] 2 MHz 8-bit Intel 80C85 [6] 0.5 MB 0.172 MBNoneCustom cyclic executive Not applicable to Cyclic Executives
1997 Pathfinder Lander (NASA) [1]
(Base station for Sojourner rover)
20 MHz MFC128 MBNone6 MB VxWorks (multitasking) [7] less than 75%
2004 Spirit and Opportunity (Mars Exploration Rover (MER), NASA) [1] 20 MHz 32-bit BAE RAD6000 (PowerPC)128 MB256 MB3 MBVxWorks (multitasking)less than 75%
2012 Curiosity (Mars Science Laboratory (MSL), NASA) [1] [8] [9] 200 MHz 32-bit BAE RAD750 (PowerPC)256 MB2048 MB0.25 MBVxWorks (multitasking)less than 75%
2021 Perseverance (Mars 2020, NASA) [10] 200 MHz 32-bit BAE RAD750 (PowerPC)256 MB2048 MB0.25 MBVxWorks (multitasking) [11] ?

Mars Rovers

See also

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References

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  5. Larry Lange (February 18, 1998). "U.S. plays catch-up as robots crawl into new applications". EETimes.com. Retrieved April 18, 2009.
  6. Mars Pathfinder Frequently Asked Questions
  7. "Wind River Powers Mars Exploration Rovers—Continues Legacy as Technology Provider for NASA's Space Exploration". Wind River. June 6, 2003. Retrieved August 28, 2009.
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  9. "BAE SYSTEMS COMPUTERS TO MANAGE DATA PROCESSING AND COMMAND FOR UPCOMING SATELLITE MISSIONS". BAE Systems. June 17, 2008. Retrieved November 17, 2008.
  10. mars.nasa.gov. "Brains - Mars 2020 Rover". mars.nasa.gov. Retrieved November 29, 2017.
  11. "Prototyping an Onboard Scheduler for the Mars 2020 Rover" (PDF).