Probe sent to Pluto is powered by the original PlayStation’s CPU

Зонд New HorizonsEven if you aren’t a science or space geek, chances are you might have heard or seen the news in which photos of the planet Pluto are being captured as we speak. In fact as it stands, there is a space probe being sent to the planet, but here’s an interesting fact: it turns out that the probe that is being sent to Pluto is actually powered by the original PlayStation’s CPU.

Now you would think that probes and space equipment in general would be powered by the latest and greatest technology, and while that’s true to a certain extent, it does make for interesting discussion that the probe being used in 2015 relies on a CPU made for a console released back in 1994, about two decades ago. The CPU itself is the MIPS R3000 CPU which was repurposed by NASA back in 2006.

Pluto New Horizons

So why use such old technology? It turns out that NASA generally prefers to rely on technology that has been tried and tested versus the latest, which makes sense because if something goes wrong in space, it’s not as if you could easily call in a technician to go out there and fix it, so by using a piece of technology that has proven itself to be reliable, that’s one less problem they’ll have to deal with.

Source: Ubergizmo

Tags: technologies

Comments
Add comment

Your name:
Sign in with:
or
Your comment:


Enter code:

E-mail (not required)
E-mail will not be disclosed to the third party


Last news

 
Galaxy Note10 really is built around a 6.7-inch display
 
You may still be able to download your content
 
Facebook, Messenger and Instagram are all going away
 
Minimize apps to a floating, always-on-top bubble
 
Japan Display has been providing LCDs for the iPhone XR, the only LCD model in Apple’s 2018 line-up
 
The 2001 operating system has reached its lowest share level
 
The entire TSMC 5nm design infrastructure is available now from TSMC
 
The smartphone uses a Snapdragon 660 processor running Android 9 Pie
The Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017) Review
The evolution of the successful smartphone, now with a waterproof body and USB Type-C
February 7, 2017 / 2
Samsung Galaxy TabPro S - a tablet with the Windows-keyboard
The first Windows-tablet with the 12-inch display Super AMOLED
June 7, 2016 /
Keyboards for iOS
Ten iOS keyboards review
July 18, 2015 /
Samsung E1200 Mobile Phone Review
A cheap phone with a good screen
March 8, 2015 / 4
Creative Sound Blaster Z sound card review
Good sound for those who are not satisfied with the onboard solution
September 25, 2014 / 2
Samsung Galaxy Gear: Smartwatch at High Price
The first smartwatch from Samsung - almost a smartphone with a small body
December 19, 2013 /
 
 

News Archive

 
 
SuMoTuWeThFrSa
      1
2345678
9101112131415
16171819202122
232425262728 




Poll

Do you use microSD card with your phone?
or leave your own version in comments (16)