Curiosity uses a G3 PPC

Fie on Intel! :-D

NASA's $2.5bn Curiosity rover: An Apple PowerBook on wheels
<http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/08/08/mars_probe_cpu/>


--
The complete lack of evidence is the surest sign that the conspiracy is
working.

On 2012-08-09 13:57 , Fred Moore wrote:
> Fie on Intel! :-D
>
> NASA's $2.5bn Curiosity rover: An Apple PowerBook on wheels
> <http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/08/08/mars_probe_cpu/>

I was going to write about this... key reason is it is a radiation
hardened CPU from BAE. Space is a brutal place.

But it's not a "PowerBook" board.


--
"Civilization is the limitless multiplication of unnecessary necessities."
-Samuel Clemens.

Fred Moore wrote:
> Fie on Intel! :-D
>
> NASA's $2.5bn Curiosity rover: An Apple PowerBook on wheels
> <http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/08/08/mars_probe_cpu/>

The register's colourful language is interesting but there is nothing in
common with the CPU used for Curiosity and a mac laptop. Hardened chips
are not made often and when they need to build a space ship, they have a
very limited catalogue of available hardened chips.

This so one of the reasons why, when they upgraded the space shuttle
computers, they werent with already old 386s. That is because the 386
was what was availavle in hardened form back then.


BTW, they run VXworks on the lander itself. So no OS-X.