Hewlett Packard Enterprise ($HPE) is taking remote working to a whole new level.
HPE announced that its new AI-compute module—dubbed Spaceborne Computer-4—is set to deploy on Astrolab’s FLIP rover during a mission expected to launch this year.
Bit FLIP: During the mission, HPE’s Spaceborne Computer-4 will test large language models, visual and LiDAR data processing, as well as autonomous monitoring on the lunar surface. NASA and Deloitte also plan to deploy AI workloads on Computer-4.
- NASA will run a neural-net model trained on Earth, Moon, and ISS data to demonstrate the coordination of multiple, separate AI models.
- Deloitte will deploy its Silent Shield system to detect cyber intrusions, and provide near-real-time analytics and spot anomalies.
HPE will also support the mission on the backend, deploying its software at Astrolab’s mission control to optimize the delivery of insights and manage the automated workloads.
The goal is to lay the groundwork for future Moon excursions to leverage edge computing to do more during lunar sojourns—including utilizing in-situ data to map the lunar surface, and demonstrating reliable, scalable deployment of future AI applications.
“What’s exciting is giving the rover the ability to make sense of what it collects, rather than simply sending everything home for analysis,” Mark Fernandez, HPE’s chief scientist of space technologies and solutions, told Payload via email. “For Astrolab, NASA and Deloitte, that’s an opportunity to test how onboard computing could deliver useful insights faster and make better use of communications with Earth.”
Fourth times the charm: As the name suggests, Spaceborne Computer-4 isn’t HPE’s first foray into space-based computing. Computer-4 stands on the shoulders of three earlier models that flew to the ISS in 2017, 2021, and 2024. These missions first tested whether COTS parts could work in space, and then demonstrated successive upgrades to compute power and storage, as well as the ability to run onboard AI.
However, Computer-4 is HPE’s first Spaceborne Computer to operate in the vacuum of space.
- Computer-4 is equipped with a low-power CPU and GPU, and utilizes flash-memory storage inside solid-state drives from KIOXIA.
- The system is designed to weather the lunar environment by operating without fans, instead using a space radiator to keep the system from overheating.
- Computer-4 is also engineered to monitor the effects of radiation, and lower its compute power during episodes that could damage the hardware.
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