NASA to Test Solution for Radiation-Tolerant Computing in Space

A technology demonstration flying aboard the next delivery for NASA’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative could help mitigate radiation effects on computers in space. Radiation Tolerant Computer, or RadPC, is one of 10 payloads set to be carried to the Moon by the Blue Ghost 1 lunar lander in 2025. Developed by Montana State University in Bozeman, RadPC is designed designed to demonstrate computer recovery from faults caused by single-event effects of ionizing radiation. Investigations and demonstrations, such as RadPC, launched on CLPS flights will help NASA study Earth’s nearest neighbor under Artemis and pave the way for future crewed missions on the Moon. NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, manages the development for seven of the 10 CLPS payloads that will be carried on Firefly’s Blue Ghost lunar lander.

What is said in the film

I'm excited to maybe have a chance to build a bunch of low cost computers that will work in any situation in the solar system. And two, it's very exciting to really have a empirical understanding. The radiation environment on the surface. Hi, I'm Dennis Harris, lunar payload manager for rad PC, which is the radiation hardened PC that is going to fly to the moon. I'm based here in Huntsville, Alabama at Marshall Space Flight Center.

Rad PC is designed to be a low cost option to radiation hardened devices that are currently in operation. Basically, it's a self-correcting PC that will allow low cost, almost commercial off the shelf parts to be used in future missions. The Science Rad PC is going to be twofold. One, it's going to be how to self-correct low cost computing on space missions. And two, it's going to give us a real feel for the radiation environment, not only on the surface of the moon, but through the Van Allen belts and through the entirety of the mission.

So it fits in two ways. One, it could allow us to have functional, low cost computing power, and not only on missions, but on the surface. The other way is that we're going to measure two different bands of radiation, a lower level and a higher level. That will give us a much better feel for the radiation environment that the autonomous astronauts will be subjected to on their mission. I'm excited for the future of computing in space.

I mean, having the option for a low cost radiation tolerant computer is fabulous, and I'm also excited to understand the radiation environment. I mean, our astronaut safety comes first, and the art of the astronauts are going to be on the moon for a long time. Commercial Lunar Payload services. NASA and American companies working together.

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