NASA’s new Mars rover is powered by a decades-old Mac chip

[stevejam]

https://bgr.com/2021/03/02/perseverance-rover-chip-nasa-powerpc-mac/

The RAD750, which is the version of the decades-old processor in Perseverance, is incredibly resilient to radiation exposure. It’s capable of withstanding up to 1,000,000 Rads. To put that in perspective, the first responders at Chernobyl that suffered such incredibly severe reactions to the radiation are thought to have been exposed to up to 16,000 millisieverts (mSv), which is equivalent to 1,600 Rads.

The chips have to be hardened in such a way as to make them impervious to radiation and charged particles speeding through space. That’s not easy… or cheap. Despite their lack of speed when compared to modern chips, each RAD750 costs over $200,000. So, you can understand the benefits of having such a chip on board Perseverance. It won’t run Fortnite, but it will power Perseverance for years and years to come.