After nearly 20 years of operation, the Mars probe software based on win 98 has been upgraded for the first time

In most people's minds , The Mars probe gives the impression that it is the crystallization of the most advanced technology . But I didn't expect a famous Mars probe in Europe , The software used is still Windows 98 The development of （ Microsoft is in 2006 Support for this operating system has been discontinued since ）.

finally , European space agency （ESA） Announced this week , ESA Mars Express （Mars Express） On spacecraft MARSIS The instrument will obtain 19 Since then , be based on Windows 98 A major software upgrade of the system , This will allow it to see in more detail than ever before beneath the surface of Mars and its Moon Phobos . 

Mars Express | Picture source ：ESA

MARSIS Developed by the University of Rome in Italy in cooperation with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California . It was installed on the ESA Mars Express spacecraft , Used to look for signs of liquid water on Mars .MARSIS（ Advanced Mars subsurface and ionospheric radar ） Instruments have played an important role in finding and discovering signs of liquid water on Mars , Including in the Antarctic 1.5 A suspect buried under km thick ice 20×30 Kilometers of salt water lake .

The artist's impression of water on the surface of Mars | Picture source ：ESA

Mars express 19 Years ago , namely 2003 year 6 month 2 Launch Sunday , It is the first ESA mission to the red planet . The orbiter is still working , And spent nearly 20 Years to study Mars from orbit , The research results will help people thoroughly understand the history of Mars 、 Present and future .

from Windows 98 To Mars 2022

This upgrade was carried out by the Italian National Institute of astrophysics （INAF） The engineer of , And by the Italian Space Agency （ASI） Full funding .

Leading the upgrade development MARSIS vice PI and INAF The operations manager of Andrea Cicchetti say ：“ After decades of fruitful scientific research and a full understanding of Mars , We hope to improve the performance of the instrument , Go beyond some of the limitations required at the beginning of the mission .”

Upgrading Enginium company MARSIS Airborne software engineer Carlo Nenna Express ：“ In order to improve the MARSIS Performance of , We face many challenges . Especially because MARSIS The software was originally in 20 Designed years ago , It is based on Microsoft Windows 98 Development environment of ！”

New software by INAF Team and Carlo Joint development , It is now being implemented by ESA on the Mars Express . It includes a series of upgrades , So as to improve airborne signal reception and data processing , To improve the quantity and quality of scientific data sent to the earth .

“ before , To study the most important features of Mars and its Moon Phobos , We rely on a sophisticated technology to store large amounts of high-resolution data , And quickly filled the instrument's onboard memory ,”Andrea say ,“ Now? , By discarding unwanted data , The new software enables us to MARSIS Five times the opening time , And explore a larger area at each pass .”

ESA Mars Express scientists Colin Wilson added ：“ There are many areas near the south pole of Mars , We may have seen signals indicating liquid water in low resolution data . The new software will help us get faster 、 Study these areas more widely with high resolution , And confirm whether they are the location of new water sources on Mars . It's really like the launch of the Mars Express near 20 Years later, I have a brand new instrument .”

Reference link ：

• https://www.esa.int/Enabling_Support/Operations/Software_upgrade_for_19-year-old_martian_water-spotter

• https://borncity.com/win/2022/06/26/esa-mars-sonde-erhlt-ein-mit-windows-98-entwickeltes-software-upgrade/

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