{"id":668927,"date":"2026-05-14T12:56:08","date_gmt":"2026-05-14T12:56:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/668927\/"},"modified":"2026-05-14T12:56:08","modified_gmt":"2026-05-14T12:56:08","slug":"nasas-next-gen-processor-is-500-times-more-powerful-than-current-space-chips","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/668927\/","title":{"rendered":"NASA’s Next-Gen Processor Is 500 Times More Powerful Than Current Space Chips"},"content":{"rendered":"

NASA is testing a chip that could significantly enhance the computing power of upcoming missions, allowing spacecraft to respond in real time should something go wrong rather than wait for commands from ground control on Earth.<\/p>\n

NASA\u2019s High Performance Spaceflight Computing project began testing the next-generation processor in February, sending an email with the subject line \u201cHello Universe.\u201d So far, the chip has shown promising results, operating at 500 times the computing power of the ones currently in use.<\/p>\n

A computer chip built for space <\/p>\n

Unlike standard computer chips, spacecraft need radiation-hardened processors that can withstand extreme temperatures and cosmic radiation that could scramble data.<\/p>\n

NASA has been using chips on board its spacecraft that were developed years ago, which have proven hardy and reliable. However, it\u2019s time for an upgrade to make way for autonomous spacecraft, as well as faster processing of data to accelerate the rate of scientific discovery and support upcoming astronaut missions to the Moon and Mars.<\/p>\n

\u201cBuilding on the legacy of previous space processors, this new multicore system is fault-tolerant, flexible, and extremely high-performing,\u201d Eugene Schwanbeck, program element manager in NASA\u2019s Game Changing Development program at the Langley Research Center, said in a statement<\/a>. \u201cNASA\u2019s commitment to advancing spaceflight computing is a triumph of technical achievement and collaboration.\u201d<\/p>\n

The next-generation chip, developed through a partnership with Microchip Technology, is a high-performance processor that\u2019s designed to provide up to 100 times the computational capacity of current spaceflight computers. It\u2019s also built to endure the challenging environment of space.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Known as a system-on-a-chip (or SoC), the new processor can fit in the palm of a hand. It includes all the key components of a computer, such as central processing units, computational offloads, advanced networking units, memory, and input\/output interfaces.<\/p>\n

The new technology is designed to support artificial intelligence systems aboard spacecraft, enabling them to autonomously respond to unexpected situations without the help of mission teams.\u00a0It is also designed to help deep space missions analyze, store, and transmit troves of data to Earth.<\/p>\n

Hello, universe <\/p>\n

The new processor is currently being tested at NASA\u2019s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California, where engineers are replicating the challenges often faced by missions in space. Those challenges include electromagnetic radiation and extreme temperature swings, which can degrade electronics.<\/p>\n

The Sun also releases high-energy particles, which can cause a spacecraft to go into a dreaded safe mode whereby all non-essential operations are shut down until mission operators on Earth send commands to resolve the issue.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are putting these new chips through the wringer by carrying out radiation, thermal, and shock tests while also evaluating their performance through a rigorous functional test campaign,\u201d Jim Butler, High Performance Space Computing project manager at JPL, said in a statement.<\/p>\n

The chips must also endure the challenges associated with landing on a planetary body. \u201cTo simulate real-world performance, we are using high-fidelity landing scenarios from real NASA missions that would typically require power-intensive hardware to process huge volumes of landing-sensor data,\u201d Butler said.<\/p>\n

Testing of the new chip will continue for several more months. Once it\u2019s certified for flight, NASA plans on incorporating the processor into the computing hardware of Earth orbiters, rovers on other planetary surfaces, crewed habitats, and deep space missions.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is an exciting time for us to be working on hardware that will enable NASA\u2019s next giant leaps,\u201d Butler said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NASA is testing a chip that could significantly enhance the computing power of upcoming missions, allowing spacecraft to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":668928,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[49,48,44062,307,66,2877],"class_list":["post-668927","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-science","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-microchips","tag-nasa","tag-science","tag-spacecraft"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/668927","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=668927"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/668927\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/668928"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=668927"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=668927"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=668927"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}