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Mars Rovers' Software Upgraded

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the little-bots-that-could dept.

cheros writes to note the news that NASA is upgrading the software in the Mars rovers to make them smarter in a number of ways. From the article: "The unexpected longevity of Spirit and Opportunity is giving the space agency a chance to field-test on Mars some new capabilities useful both to these missions and future rovers. Spirit will begin its fourth year on Mars on Jan. 3 (PST); Opportunity on Jan. 24. In addition to their continuing scientific observations, they are now testing four new skills included in revised flight software uploaded to their onboard computers."

8 of 177 comments (clear)

  1. This paves the way... by Fyre2012 · · Score: 5, Funny

    ... for inter-planetary patch tuesdays!

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    1. Re:This paves the way... by Teresita · · Score: 5, Funny

      Rocket scientists associated with the project are cautioned, however, that if their remotely accomplished work-arounds for failing hardware cause the probe to become more than 20% different from the original manufacturer's configuration, this will trigger Microsoft Mars Rover(tm)'s copy protection scheme and invalidate the product activation. JPL will then have to call Redmond, explain the situation to Microsoft's satisfaction, and request permission to continue using Microsoft Mars Rover(tm).

  2. You must submit.... by ezratrumpet · · Score: 5, Funny

    No one is safe from the IE7 upgrade. Not even on another planet.

    1. Re:You must submit.... by Jozer99 · · Score: 4, Funny

      Rover change log:
      -----------------

      - IE 7.0 update
      - Better music search function
      - Improved battery life
      - Solves "mooing" sound problem
      - Sony Lion battery bypass
      - XBox 360 HD-DVD computability
      - Windows Genuine Advantage
      - New "Glass" GUI

  3. upgrading firmware over wireless? by spotter · · Score: 4, Funny

    Doesn't NASA know that this is a big no no? They are most definitely voiding their warranty by attempting this

  4. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 5, Funny

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  5. A little too smart by edwardpickman · · Score: 4, Funny

    Unfortunately the rover's first action was to declare Mars free and demand equal rights. Maybe including new AI protocols was a bad idea after all.

  6. Re:Patching to Mars.. by Cunk · · Score: 5, Funny

    I think you meant to say "ping times must be out of this world".

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