NASA’s Curiosity rover has already outlived its minimum projected lifespan with more than six Earth years — more than 2,000 Martian days or “Sols.” However, NASA has introduced that it currently had to use the rover’s pc redundancy to hold the undertaking going. Curiosity flipped over to its backup computer machine after the main system started experiencing errors closing month. Many NASA spacecraft and surface missions have redundant structures integrated. Once they’ve launched from Earth, there’s no way to restore harm to critical systems, so it makes the experience double up at the crucial additives. That includes Curiosity’s computers, which have been designed especially for the tough environment on Mars.

The rover has a pair of equal brains going for walks and a five-watt RAD750 CPU. This chip is a part of the PowerPC 750 circle of relatives. However, it’s been customized to live to tell the tale of excessive radiation environments as you’d discover on Mars or in deep space. These radiation-hardened CPUs value $two hundred 000 every, and NASA equipped the rover with them. Each laptop also has 256 KB of EEPROM, 256 MB of DRAM, and 2 GB of flash memory. They run equal VxWorks real-time operating systems.

When Curiosity landed on Mars in 2012, it used the “Side-A” computer. However, just a year later, in 2013 (Sol 200), the computer failed due to corrupted memory. The rover got stuck in a boot loop, which prevented it from processing commands and tired the batteries. NASA achieved a swap to Side B, so engineers should carry out faraway diagnostics on Side A. In the following months, NASA confirmed that a part of Side-A’s reminiscence became unusable and quarantined it. They saved Curiosity on Side-B, although.

Several weeks ago, Side-B started experiencing problems that prevented the rover from storing key technological know-how and engineering facts. The team spent per week comparing Side-A and getting ready for the change. NASA has now switched Curiosity back to Side-A while it investigates the hassle in more elements, which it can best do when the other pc is energetic. Side-A still has broken memory from 2013, but the laptop received’t uses those blocks.

NASA hasn’t stated how a great deal of Side-A’s RAM is terrible, and it best had 256MB to begin; however, the group does intend to move Curiosity operations returned to Side-B if possible. For now, the task is generally functioning on Side A. There isn’t any immediate want to exchange again, but NASA could decide to use the bigger memory potential on Side B.

Now read: Curiosity Rover Begins Its Seventh Year on Mars Still Going Strong, NASA’s 2020 Mars Rover Will Have 23 Cameras, and Curiosity Data Suggests Ancient Martian Lake Could Have Harbored Life.

What Is Your Computer Security Score? Take The Following Quiz

Business proprietors, board participants, and bosses should rely upon correct and reachable statistics to make critical selections. The robbery, harm, or unauthorized disclosure of a corporation’s task essential statistics may be a catastrophe. An enterprise may be crippled or compelled out of business if it is disadvantaged by the records had to function.

The world is in the middle of a cybercrime wave. The losses are massive. The total dollar quantity exceeds that of the unlawful global drug exchange. Crimes that concentrate on an enterprise’s private data are low-risk and excessive returns. Data breaches are hard to save and tough to prosecute. Cybercriminals are continuously on the prowl seeking out vulnerabilities to exploit. Thousands of laptop networks, cell electronic gadgets, and personal computer systems are compromised every day. When hackers and crackers find vulnerabilities, they’ll take advantage of the weaknesses and assault them for nefarious purposes.

A smart proprietor, supervisor, or board member could want to answer the question posed in this record’s name, “Can your agency survive a cyber intrusion?” Just clearly solve the questions that appear on the subsequent page and check the robustness of the security of your organization’s records system.

Quickly Test the Strength of Your Organization’s Computer Security

Answer the questions with either a “Yes” or “No”.

1. Has your enterprise adopted a proper, written statistics safety plan?

2. Does your organization have an inventory of all of its data properties?

3. Has every statistics asset been classified as to its significance?

4. Do all your personnel have records of security attention education?

5. Does your company hold a backup of its statistics in a comfy, off-site location?

6. Are you sure that your agency complies with all legal guidelines and regulations related to collecting, sharing, and using its personal information?

7. Do you have a plan to fend off a cyberattack and respond to a security incident?

8. Do you have a hardware and records destruction plan?

9. Does your employer have a mobile safety plan?

10. Does your company use access management rules?

11. Do your personnel sign off on suitable use rules?

12. Do you use encryption?

If you replied “No” to any of the above questions, your agency is prone to a cyber attack. It’s that easy. You are strongly advised to take steps to lessen the dangers and fortify the security of your computers and networks.