There are a lot of computers in space, already. We know that the International Space Station has already been through various operating systems and worked with both Microsoft Windows and various forms (distributions) of Linux in recent years. In these ‘early days’ of space, we imagine that all computers in orbit around our planet are specially made machines with custom-created functions and one off enhancements. But when space travel becomes more commonplace, we will need more space supercomputers, so how will these machines operate?
Researching this future not-quite-yet-a-problem (but soon could be) predicament is Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE). The firm is now working with NASA to put a high performance commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) computer system into space, something that has never been done before. The goal is for the system to operate in the harsh conditions of space for one year – roughly the amount of time it will take to travel to Mars.
The Spaceborne Computer has been sent upwards this month on the SpaceX CRS-12 rocket, developed by Elon Musk’s SpaceX from Kennedy Space Center, Florida. It will board the Dragon Spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS) National Lab.
Stem cells save Martian astronauts
But the journey to Mars is going to be tough. Discussions have already surfaced around the use of stem cells that could help us, the humans, to survive the journey to Mars. As noted here, it is thought that long-term exposure to microgravity could leave astronauts with a drastically lowered immune system that is open to infection. But where stem cells have been flown into space and back, they have been found to develop greater ‘stemness' i.e. the ability to self-renew and generate into any cell type. We could, effectively, start to engineer new stem cells with a greater ability to update and renew and so keep us alive. Is there a lesson for technology and software updates here?
Software saves Martian supercomputers
If stem cells could save humans, how would we ensure the same kind of self-healing research is available to our machines, which ultimately will be needed to help keep us alive on the journey to Mars? These machines will, after all, be exposed to the same kinds of damaging radiation as human passengers. Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) thinks that the answer could lie in software.
Researching this future not-quite-yet-a-problem (but soon could be) predicament is Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE). The firm is now working with NASA to put a high performance commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) computer system into space, something that has never been done before. The goal is for the system to operate in the harsh conditions of space for one year – roughly the amount of time it will take to travel to Mars.
The Spaceborne Computer has been sent upwards this month on the SpaceX CRS-12 rocket, developed by Elon Musk’s SpaceX from Kennedy Space Center, Florida. It will board the Dragon Spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS) National Lab.
Stem cells save Martian astronauts
But the journey to Mars is going to be tough. Discussions have already surfaced around the use of stem cells that could help us, the humans, to survive the journey to Mars. As noted here, it is thought that long-term exposure to microgravity could leave astronauts with a drastically lowered immune system that is open to infection. But where stem cells have been flown into space and back, they have been found to develop greater ‘stemness' i.e. the ability to self-renew and generate into any cell type. We could, effectively, start to engineer new stem cells with a greater ability to update and renew and so keep us alive. Is there a lesson for technology and software updates here?
Software saves Martian supercomputers
If stem cells could save humans, how would we ensure the same kind of self-healing research is available to our machines, which ultimately will be needed to help keep us alive on the journey to Mars? These machines will, after all, be exposed to the same kinds of damaging radiation as human passengers. Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) thinks that the answer could lie in software.