back to article Curiosity needs OS upgrade before getting down to science

The Curiosity Rover will upgrade its operating system before getting down to serious science, NASA said today. The Rover's onboard computer has wimpy specs, boasting just: A BAE RAD 750 single-board computer with a 200Mhz Power PC CPU; Two gigabytes of flash memory; 256 megabytes of DRAM; 256 kilobytes of electrically …

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  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    No one will need more than 637 kb of memory

    Even on Mars

  2. Zad
    Alien

    Each module has its own memory and processor, the cameras can do their own JPEG compression, subsampling etc. before handing it over to be transmitted back.

    e.g. "Each camera has an 8 gigabyte internal buffer that permits it to store over 5,500 raw frames"

    http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/mission/instruments/cameras/mastcam/

    As I understood it, the 5 Mbit / 40Mbit thing - that wasn't link speed, but total downloaded data in particular passes.

    1. Phil O'Sophical Silver badge
      Boffin

      total downloaded data in particular passes.

      Yeah, this stuff is Cloud storage taken to extremes...

  3. Steve I

    Can the robot arm do ctrl-alt-delete?

    1. Chemist

      "Can the robot arm do ctrl-alt-delete?"

      No, but it can probably make a 'gesture' to the camera that will probably do the same - just like many users will to a BSOD.

      1. Mint Sauce
        Thumb Up

        Re: "Can the robot arm do ctrl-alt-delete?"

        Is it just me that immediately got an image of the scutters from Red Dwarf at this point? Yes, oh well never mind then ;-)

    2. Captain TickTock
      Joke

      Re: Can the robot arm do ctrl-alt-delete?

      or poke a straightened paper clip into the reset to factory default button?

  4. Magister

    Wow

    "40 megabits per second connection to Earth, when it can get it"

    Damn; wish I could get that. My home broadband (which is on a business tariff) is currently getting 0.13 Mbps (and has been for the last 3 months) despite numerous calls to BT.

    Perhaps I should try seeing if I could piggy back off the NASA connection? Or maybe it already is, and they just haven't told me?

    Seriously thought, it's one hell of an achievement. I for one would love the chance to play with toys this cool.

    1. markoer
      FAIL

      Re: Wow

      I think The Register has messed up with some numbers. That cannot be the real transmission speed.

    2. Malcolm 1

      Re: Wow

      It may be fast by residential standards but I'll bet the latency sucks.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Wow

        Christ. Some honch in a cushy office on Earth says go look at a grid reference in the middle of nowhere, we look. They don't say why, and I don't ask. I don't ask because it takes two weeks to get an answer out here and the answer's always 'don't ask.

    3. Ryan Kendall
      Paris Hilton

      Re: Wow

      Your getting confused your connection getting 0.13MB/s not 0.13Mb/s.

      0.13 (MB / s) = 1.04 Mb / s

      So its only 4 times more bandwidth without any error correction.

      You can always get satellite broadband if you want the real NASA feel to you internet :-)

    4. David Gosnell

      Re: Wow

      The ping sucks though.

    5. Comments are attributed to your handle

      0.13 Mbps? Luxury!

      Back in my day we were lucky to get 0.13 Mb in any reasonable amount of time.

  5. Andy 36
    Joke

    In space...

    ... no one can hear you scream about patch Tuesday

  6. NomNomNom

    Re: CURIOSITY NEEDS OS UPGRADE BEFORE GETTING DOWN TO SCIENCE

    Curiosity should have thought about that before it left

    1. NomNomNom

      Re:

      NASA: Okay you got everything, you are ready to go?

      Curiosity: Yeah lets do it!

      NASA: You sure you have *everything* you need at the other end?

      Curiosity: yeah yeah, come on lets go!

      NASA: Packed enough fuel? What abou...

      Curiosity: YES YES! come on launch me already!

      ...years pass....

      NASA: Come in Curiosity...please send us your science report.

      Curiosity: Hang on having some problems, I can't find the science software..

      NASA: ...

      Curiosity: Probably I just dropped it somewhere, I am looking for it right now

      NASA: ... Did you pack the science software Curiosity?

      Curiosity: Yep.

      NASA: ... You sure?

      Curiosity: Absolutely. 70% sure.

      NASA: ...

      Curiosity: Although now you mention it I think I left it on the table back home. Can you go round and mail it to me?

      NASA: ...

      1. Rob

        Re: Re:

        lol, that conversation reminds me of the robot tanks in Ghost in the Shell SAC.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: CURIOSITY NEEDS OS UPGRADE BEFORE GETTING DOWN TO SCIENCE

      But did Curiosity remember to switch off the gas, feed the cat, put a note out for the milkman and put the key under the front mat?

      1. Bronek Kozicki
        Joke

        Re: CURIOSITY NEEDS OS UPGRADE BEFORE GETTING DOWN TO SCIENCE

        feed the cat? You must be kidding. There is that other thing it did to the cat ...

        1. Rob
          Joke

          Re: CURIOSITY NEEDS OS UPGRADE BEFORE GETTING DOWN TO SCIENCE

          What other thing... you're not seriously suggesting a NASA robot dumped a cat in a wheelie bin are you?

        2. My Alter Ego
          Thumb Up

          Re: CURIOSITY NEEDS OS UPGRADE BEFORE GETTING DOWN TO SCIENCE

          Genius, it took me a while to get that one.

  7. Annihilator
    Paris Hilton

    "At a press conference today, NASA suggested the latter is about to get a workout, with panellists saying the Rover's flight computer needs an upgrade before it can start to perform sophisticated experiments."

    Is it still a flight computer? Or is that the point of the upgrade, they're changing it from a flight computer to a drive/rover computer?

    1. Danny 14

      maybe the mission spec changed? If they have new software sent to curiosity then perhaps it can do more than was intended (probably by ditching the old flight mode part)

      1. Dave 126 Silver badge

        Mission changed? At the the advanced planning stage?

        "Good day, gentlemen. This is a pre-recorded briefing made prior to your departure. In which for security reasons, of the highest importance has been known onboard during the mission only by your Power 750 computer. Now that you are on the surface of Mars and the entire crew is revived, it can be told to you. 18 months ago, the first evidence of intelligent life off the Earth was discovered. It was buried 40 feet below the lunar surface, near the crater Tycho. Except for a single very powerful radio emission aimed at Mars, the 4 million year old black monolith has remained completely inert. It's origin and purpose....still a complete mystery."

        1. Fatman

          Re: Mission changed? At the the advanced planning stage?

          Funny, but over the weekend, I happened to watch that movie (2001 A Space Odyssey), and remember that scene . Let's hope this rover doesn't suffer from a similar psychotic episode, and run itself off a cliff.

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Just in time for the release of Windows 8...

  9. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Eh? "Only" 5 Mbps?

    That's 640 KB/s, i.e., a couple of relatively high resolution full color pics of Paris Hilton per second.

    Data transmission speed was said to be one reason why they were only sending crappy B&W pics initially. I do think El Reg screwed up some units...

    1. Joseph Lord

      Re: Eh? "Only" 5 Mbps?

      I suspect that they meant 5kbps or even only 5bps although I haven't checked which. Even at 5 kbps it wouldn't take long to fill the 256KB memory for the OS.

  10. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Just don't use Windoze...

    ...or the project will be FUBARed forever.

  11. tempemeaty
    Joke

    What!?

    Upgrade now? Why? Somebody forget while it was on earth?

    Must have been to successful. Remember, if it isn't broke, fix it until it is! lol.

  12. Graham Newton

    Data rate

    I don;t think the data rate information is correct.

    Doesn;t agrree with this.

    http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/mission/communicationwithearth/data/

    I'm surprised that they have had to upgrade the OS especially after such a short trip. I wrote the s/w for the SSP experiment on Cassini Huygens and the last thing I would have wanted to do was significant s/w upgrades. I didn't use an OS as they are too resource hungary..

    On that my data rate allocation was about 2 to 10 slots of 100 bytes per 12 second cycle. (From memory)

    However having carried out such an audacious landing procedure an OS upgrade should be a walk in the park.

    1. Michael Prior-Jones
      FAIL

      Re: Data rate

      Yeah, El Reg has massively misquoted the data rates - I did think it was odd to achieve data rates to Mars in excess of a lot of UK broadband speeds! 32 kilobits per second is the top rate direct to Earth, and the fastest link rate is 2 Megabits per second to the Mars Reconnaisance Orbiter, but that's only in view for 8 minutes per orbit!

  13. PassiveSmoking
    Mushroom

    Wimpy specs?

    Try putting your i7 rig with 48 gig or RAM and AMD Radian 993848203 graphics next to an unshielded nuclear reactor and then tell me that the Curiosity computer is wimpy. Spacebound computers have to survive crap that would roast most typical desktops and laptops in seconds. And given how you couldn't get The Tech Guys to make a housecall to Mars, having it work under extreme abuse is far more important than ridiculous performance figures.

    Nuke, because the wimpy computer can survive one.

    1. Ken Hagan Gold badge

      Re: next to an unshielded nuclear reactor

      And on the other side, either the icy coldness of interplanetary space or the burning heat of direct sunshine.

      Given those temperature differences, even the freaking *box* that your average computer comes in wouldn't be able to survive, let alone the contents.

      1. Jared Hunt
        Go

        Re: next to an unshielded nuclear reactor

        Not forgetting of course that it had the shit shaken out of it by rocket vibration and suffered massive g-forces during launch and landing. Spaceflight eletronics are very tough cookies.

        1. John Brown (no body) Silver badge
          Happy

          Re: next to an unshielded nuclear reactor

          I bet they still use lead in the solder too!

    2. Mike Flex

      Re: Wimpy specs?

      > given how you couldn't get The Tech Guys to make a housecall to Mars

      Having sorted out a friend's computer after getting it back from "The Tech Guys" it surprises me not to find that NASA have put Curiosity at least 56 million km from the nearest "Tech Guy".

  14. Bunker_Monkey
    Megaphone

    Ok so...

    When do we get Mars HD channel on Freesat.. cause its possible... that or live broadcasts not possible cause ET dont permit it?

  15. Steve Evans

    Nowhere is safe...

    ... from patch Tuesday!

  16. Old Painless
    Go

    "Hang on...

    ..you want me to erase my flight mode, right? Won't that make it really hard to get back home?I mean you, can't really expect......OMG!!!! You want me to frickin STAY HERE!!!!"

  17. TechnicianJack
    Alert

    You did set 'interplanetary space wifi' as the first boot option in the bios, didn't you?

  18. John Smith 19 Gold badge
    Coat

    NASA has 2 historical tendencies with its onboard computers

    Underestimating their memory requirements

    Updating software while in flight.

    I'd note that one of the attractions of a military COTS design is that there should be a cheaper non-rad hard version for development (of course BAe cheap might not be your idea of the word).

    The under sizing of memory has resulted in them developing procedures to make *absolutely* sure that what they sent the lander is what is sitting in it's memory and QA procedures to ensure that when control is transferred to it that it'll do what they expect..

    What would be surprising would be if they were not working on this new up load since launch and be ready to start sending as soon as it landed. It would also be surprising that at least some of the rover experiments are not available right now. That suggests either *gross* under sizing of main memory, or the landing software grew a *lot* after launch and the experiment control software had to be dumped to make room, which I'd be pretty surprised about.

    BTW quite a lot of the S/W on it's 2 previous rovers were built using open software tools and NASA has a strong interest in certain parts of AI, particularly scheduling in constrained resource environments and automated fault detection (from telemetry), diagnosis and mitigation (you can't really repair something that's several million Km's away from you).

    Mines the one with "Computers in Spaceflight: The NASA Experience" loaded in the Kindle.

    1. Ken Hagan Gold badge

      Re: "Computers in Spaceflight: The NASA Experience"

      Upvoted for the holiday reading suggestion. Ta!

      1. John Smith 19 Gold badge
        Happy

        Re: "Computers in Spaceflight: The NASA Experience"

        If you have an interest in this area you won't be disappointed. It covers all the major programmes from Gemini (8 IPS. This is not a typo) to Shuttle (Mercury did not have one).

        For anyone who saw "Space Cowboys" and wondered "What is the Skylab computer system actually like?" this will answer that.

        You'll also see which (probably) had the best managed hardware development process and what NASA uses to write the software to test and diagnose everything from the ground equipment to the payloads.

        1. David Given
          Pint

          Re: "Computers in Spaceflight: The NASA Experience"

          Can you point us at a decent ebook version? archive.org has either a dodgy half-gigabyte PDF scan or an even dodgier OCR of it. There's a decent HTML version here:

          http://www.hq.nasa.gov/pao/History/computers/Compspace.html

          ...but goddamn it, I want a copy for my Kindle.

          1. John Smith 19 Gold badge

            Re: "Computers in Spaceflight: The NASA Experience"

            You asked for it.

            http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19880069935_1988069935.pdf

            This link works but you are looking at c 1/2 GB

            Happy reading.

          2. John Smith 19 Gold badge
            Unhappy

            Re: "Computers in Spaceflight: The NASA Experience"

            Oops, didn't spot you'd already seen the 500MB version.

            It's odd that AFAIK this one was written electronically so a *direct* document -> PDF conversion should have been pretty easy.

            But NASA has a *huge* back catalog of stuff and I think scanning one of those summer jobs they give interns, with varying levels of results. Some are searchable and some seem to be straight bitmap scans of the pages.

            I'm not sure what the NASA policy on people going to see them and scanning it themselves is.

            1. David Given
              Alert

              Re: "Computers in Spaceflight: The NASA Experience"

              Grumble grumble stupid frickin' huge downloads grumble grumble.

              Here's a single-page version, with cleaned up formatting, of the online HTML version of the book: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XTVLIkwoAEf5mZnSwRFCHaW1_PZ4gG4d15NWd2arvtA/edit

              There's still some work left to do --- tidying up the boxes and figures, indenting quoted text, etc --- but it's *vastly* easier to read like that. I haven't managed to make an ebook version yet, though, as calibre seems to choke on Google Docs' output.

              Google Docs so does not like documents that big.

  19. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Can't wait for the google maps streetview of Curiosity

    It wouldn't be angry birds but angry birds in SPaaace

    They had thought about iOS but didn't want to load iTunes and have Curiosity download fart apps.

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