Mars: Curiosity uses 17 2-megapixel camera

A week ago the robot landed in the crater Curiosity Mars Gale, a decline that could be followed live via the Internet. The rover is already transmitting images of the terrain around it, and the probe that led to Mars sent a video of his fall to touch Martian soil. Curiosity leads, as might be expected, an onboard computer, which operates the 17 2-megapixel camera has, sensors and mechanical arms, and sending data to Earth through its antennae. There is hardware that stands out for its power: as detailing the ExtremeTech site, the computer is manufactured by the British firm BAE Systems (one of the largest providers of hardware for the Department of Defense), and-as a modern cell - all components are on a single motherboard: the 256 MB of DRAM, 2 GB of flash memory for storing pictures and videos and the central processor, a PowerPC 750. PowerPC processor is a line created by IBM in conjunction with Apple and Motorola. The 750 gave life to the Apple Mac G3, PowerPC has been licensed to multiple companies, which can be modified for implementation (similar to the English ARM processor designs created for mobile manufactured then others). In the case of RAD750 gives life to Curiosity, is a chip with 10.4 million transistors, with a design that makes it resistant to radiation (up to 1000 grays, as reference in making an X-ray image irradiation is thousandths of Grays). Withstands temperatures from minus 55 ° C and 70 ° C, consumes 10 watts to run and is used in satellites, telescopes and space probes since 2005. When it comes to the operating system uses the VxWorks from Wind River Systems (now part of Intel), a real-time operating system (such as QNX RIM) used in all kinds of devices, such as some Linksys routers, BMW cars or the Apache Longbow helicopter. Curiosity has sent high-resolution images of the surface of Mars and views of the plains. The first high-resolution image was taken by the upper chamber of the mast, which will be used during the navigation mission of the laboratory stock, which will seek information on the composition of the Martian surface and traces of the past presence of water. The snapshot, black and white, shows a plain dotted with small rocks, against which rises a ridge of hills that mark the limits of the crater Gale, a destination for this browser. The control center receives the information NASA first low resolution and gradually updated with details of the images, which in the case of the chambers of the mast not show the film dust from the lower chambers of the rover.