{"id":86418,"date":"2018-11-15T08:48:11","date_gmt":"2018-11-15T16:48:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.backblaze.com\/blog\/?p=86418"},"modified":"2025-07-20T06:11:39","modified_gmt":"2025-07-20T13:11:39","slug":"mars-rover-backup-brain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.backblaze.com\/blog\/mars-rover-backup-brain\/","title":{"rendered":"Ever Wish You Had a Backup Brain? The Mars Rover Has One"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Mars<\/a><\/p>\n

Have you ever had one of those days when even a second cup of coffee can’t jump-start your thinking and you just wished you had another brain you could switch to? If you’re the Mars Curiosity<\/em> Rover, you can.<\/p>\n

A recent glitch in its main computer required the Curiosity<\/em> Rover team at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) to switch to another computer in the rover while they worked to resolve problems with its main computer. The problem started around September 15 with the rover “failing to store science and some key engineering data,” according to NASA. The rover continued to send limited engineering data stored in short-term memory when it connected to a relay orbiter — it was otherwise healthy and receiving commands. But whatever was preventing Curiosity<\/em> from storing science data in long-term memory was also preventing the storage of the rover’s event records, a journal of all its actions that engineers need in order to make a diagnosis. The computer swap allowed data and event records to be stored on the Curiosity<\/em>‘s other computer, improving the rover’s operations and helping the engineers diagnose the problem.<\/p>\n

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Just switched to my Side-A computer so the team can diagnose a tech issue with the B side. (I carry two computers for situations like this.) Redundant systems: don\u2019t leave Earth without them. https:\/\/t.co\/e2jHXkNHXN<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/LMeBMJ54mU<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Curiosity Rover (@MarsCuriosity) October 3, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n