The California company AstroLab is preparing for the launch of the FLIP unmanned lunar rover as part of the Griffin-1 mission. The device will head to the south pole of the Moon. The Spaceborne Computer-4 supercomputer from Hewlett Packard Enterprise will be placed on board (HPE). This is the first case of testing high-performance computing, graphics processors and artificial intelligence technologies directly on the lunar surface.
Конструкція суперкомп’ютера розрахована на роботу в екстремальних умовах південного полюса Місяця. Модуль виготовлено з теплопровідного алюмінію, він є компактним, легким і повністю автономним. Система оснащена енергоефективним 64-бітним процесором, graphic accelerator and solid-state drives. Power will be provided by batteries and solar cells of the rover.
The main task of the experiment is to check the performance of the equipment during a year of autonomous operation, including several moonlit nights lasting over 150 hours. The supercomputer will analyze the visual data, will form terrain maps and provide semi-autonomous movement of the device.
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory software will be used for non-GPS navigation (JPL). A machine learning algorithm will compare the saved maps with terrain images, received by the rover cameras, which will allow you to determine the position of the device and bypass dangerous areas.
Astrobotic's Griffin lander will deliver a payload as part of NASA's CLPS program. In addition to the FLIP rover, the CubeRover micro-rover will be placed on board, the LandCam-X optical navigation system and the Nanofiche GLPH digital archive. The success of the mission will contribute to the implementation of artificial intelligence technologies in future expeditions of the Artemis program.
Source: https://universemagazine.com