The Dependable Multiprocessor is a technology advance being developed by Honeywell, Inc. It allows us to do complex processing of science data onboard the spacecraft despite the harsh space environment. Using standard commercial components arranged in a unique architecture, along with special software to detect and correct radiation induced errors, this technology will allow us to build computers that are up to 1000 times more capable than current-day space-borne computer systems. The objective for this experiment is to validate empirically the ability of a commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) -based processing system to execute a space-science application at 300 million operations per second per Watt of power (MOPS/W) in a space radiation environment. These new, highly capable computers will make possible a new generation of intelligent spacecraft and space robots for future NASA science and exploration missions.
>> Space—An Unfriendly Place
Space is a mean, unfriendly place for equipment as well as for astronauts. Any materials, scientific instruments, or electronic components we place above Earth's protective atmosphere are subjected to wildly variable accelerations, mechanical shock and vibration, harsh vacuum conditions, extreme temperatures, and often, intense particle and electromagnetic radiation.
Perhaps the most unusual (and hostile) aspect of this environment is the radiation. Earth's surface, different regions of the space surrounding Earth, and interplanetary space each experience different levels and types of radiation.
>> Radiation Effects
Radiation, in the form of the charged particles, as well as ionizing electromagnetic waves, can degrade or destroy spacecraft electronic components, wreak havoc with digital data, and upset the operation of instruments, computers, and software. Even in the safer region of Low Earth Orbit (LEO), radiation is still a serious problem for both humans and computer electronics.
Ordinary computers that work fine on Earth are useless in space. The high-energy electromagnetic waves and charged particles, collectively known as "ionizing radiation," pass through them, damaging whatever gets in their way.
There are two main types of effects caused by ionizing radiation: permanent damage and temporary errors. Permanent damage causes a computer processor to fail permanently or a memory cell to be permanently unavailable. Temporary errors cause a processor to produce an incorrect result or a value in a memory cell to change, in turn producing an incorrect result when that cell is recalled.
