NASA’s new Phoenix Lander launched last Friday, destined for the red planet. The first in NASA’s Scout Program, Phoenix will look for habitable zones and evidence of water in Mars’ artic region.
The lander itself is powered by a processor based on IBM’s Power Architecture, similar to the one used in Sony’s PlayStation 3. I don’t mean to speak for Josh Goldman, but I’m sure he would say that once again the technology in the Sony PS3 is proving itself quite useful in powering more than just a gaming console.
IBM’s Power Architecture is actually present in the Xbox 360 and Wii consoles as well as half of the world’s cars and many of the world’s supercomputers.
We are honored that NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory has selected Power Architecture and the BAE Systems RAD6000 to be an integral part of a mission that may answer the age old question; could life exist on another planet,” said Raj Desai, vice president IBM Global Engineering Solutions, “With Power-based processors in all three major game consoles, in fifty percent of automobile models worldwide, in sixty percent of the world’s fastest computers, and in one hundred percent of the systems on Mars, Power is truly the most versatile computing platform in the solar system.
IBM Power Architecture Heads to Unexplored Region of Mars [Press Release]