TIMES.KY

Cayman Islands, Caribbeanand International News
Tuesday, Mar 28, 2023

Mars Orbiter Running On Windows 98 Gets Software Upgrade 19 Years After Launch

Mars Orbiter Running On Windows 98 Gets Software Upgrade 19 Years After Launch

It will now be able to view beneath Mars surfaces in greater detail due to the upgrade
The Mars Express project, one of the most successful missions launched by the European Space Agency (ESA), is getting a software update. The Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionospheric Sounding (MARSIS) instrument on the Mars Express is now receiving an update, 19 years after its launch. It will be able to view beneath the surfaces of Mars and its moon Phobos in greater detail, thanks to this significant software upgrade. The MARSIS instrument is well-known for its part in the search for evidence of liquid water on Mars. The first mission by the ESA to the Red Planet was Mars Express.

Since its launch on June 2, 2003, the orbiter has spent almost two decades probing Earth's neighbour and fundamentally altering our view of Mars' past, present, and future. Now, ESA engineers are preparing a Windows 98 upgrade to the orbiter around the Red Planet's surface.

An ESA press release quoted Andrea Cicchetti, MARSIS Deputy PI and Operation Manager at INAF, who led the development of the upgrade, as saying, “After decades of fruitful science and having gained a good understanding of Mars, we wanted to push the instrument's performance beyond some of the limitations required back when the mission began.”

MARSIS employs low-frequency radio waves that reflect off the planet's surface to search for water on Mars and learn more about its atmosphere. The upgrade features a number of improvements that enhance signal reception and on-board data processing to increase the amount and quality of research data returned to Earth. Even three miles below Mars' surface, the instrument's 130-foot antenna is capable of searching.

Carlo Nenna, a software engineer at Enginium who is assisting ESA with the upgrade, says that they faced a number of hurdles to increase the performance of MARSIS, and adds, “Not least because the MARSIS software was originally designed over 20 years ago, using a development environment based on Microsoft Windows 98!”

In the past, researchers had to rely on a complicated technique that stored a lot of high-resolution data and quickly filled up the instrument's on-board memory in order to study the most significant characteristics of Mars and to investigate its moon Phobos. Now, the software upgrade would enable them to turn on MARSIS for five times as long and examine a considerably greater area with each run by rejecting data that is unnecessary.
Newsletter

Related Articles

TIMES.KY
Close
0:00
0:00
Brand new security footage has just been released to the public showing the Active shooter Audrey Elizabeth Hale drove to Covenant Church School in her Honda Fit this morning, parked, and shot her way into the building
AMERICA, 2023
U.S. charges FTX's Bankman-Fried with paying $40 million bribe
Fallen 'Crypto King' Who Owes Millions to Investors Was Kidnapped and Tortured
Regulators blame social media for SVB's rapid collapse: 'Complete game changer'
AOC explains why she opposes banning TikTok
UK: Humza Yousaf replaces Nicola Sturgeon as SNP leader and first minister in Scotland
In a dramatic U-turn against His Government: Judicial Reform Legislation Must Be Halted, Says Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant
Gordon Moore, a co-founder of Intel Corporation, died at 94
Powell: Silicon Valley Bank was an 'outlier'
Donald Trump arrested – Twitter goes wild with doctored pictures
NYPD is setting up barricades outside Manhattan Criminal Court ahead of Trump arrest.
Credit Suisse's Scandalous History Resulted in an Obvious Collapse - It's time for regulators who fail to do their job to be held accountable and serve as an example by being behind bars.
Home Secretary Suella Braverman tours potential migrant housing in Rwanda as asylum deal remains mired in legal challenges
Paris Rioting vs Macron anti democratic law
'Sexual Fantasy' Assignment At US School Outrages Parents
Credit Suisse to borrow $54 billion from Swiss central bank
Russian Hackers Preparing New Cyber Assault Against Ukraine
Jeremy Hunt insists his Budget will get young parents and over-50s back into work
If this was in Tehran, Moscow or Hong Kong
TRUMP: "Standing before you today, I am the only candidate who can make this promise: I will prevent World War III."
Mexican President Claims Mexico is Safer than the U.S.
A brief banking situation report
Lady bites police officer and gets instantly reaction
We are witnessing widespread bank fails and the president just gave a 5 min speech then walked off camera.
Donald Trump's asked by Tucker Carlson question on if the U.S. should support regime change in Russia?.
Silicon Valley Bank exec was Lehman Brothers CFO
In a potential last-ditch effort, HSBC is considering a rescue deal to save Silicon Valley Bank UK from insolvency
BBC Director General, Tim Davie, has apologized, but not resigned, yet, following the disruption of sports programmes over the weekend
Elon Musk Is Planning To Build A Town In Texas For His Employees
The Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse effect is spreading around the world, affecting startup companies across the globe
City officials in Berlin announced on Thursday that all swimmers at public pools will soon be allowed to swim topless
Fitness scam
Market Chaos as USDC Loses Peg to USD after $3.3 Billion Reserves Held by Silicon Valley Bank Closed.
Senator Tom Cotton: If the Mexican Government Won’t Stop Cartels from Killing Americans, Then U.S. Government Should
Banking regulators close SVB, the largest bank failure since the financial crisis
The unelected UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, an immigrant himself, defends new controversial crackdown on illegal migration
Man’s penis amputated by mistake after he’s wrongly diagnosed with a tumour
In a major snub to Downing Street's Silicon Valley dreams, UK chip giant Arm has dealt a serious blow to the government's economic strategy by opting for a US listing
It's the question on everyone's lips: could a four-day workweek be the future of employment?
Is Gold the Ultimate Safe Haven Asset in Times of Uncertainty?
Spain officials quit over trains that were too wide for tunnels...
Don Lemon, a CNN anchor, has provided a list of five areas that he believes the black community needs to address.
Hello. Here is our news digest from London.
Corruption and Influence Buying Uncovered in International Mainstream Media: Investigation Reveals Growing Disinformation Mercenaries
Givenchy Store in New York Robbed of $50,000 in Merchandise
European MP Clare Daly condemns US attack on Nord Stream
Former U.S. President Carter will spend his remaining time at home and receive hospice care instead of medication
Tucker Carlson called Trump a 'demonic force'
US Joins 15 NATO Nations in Largest Space Data Collection Initiative in History
×