5 ms·

Curiosity rover gives Nasa a scare, needed a reset

70 points by wglb 8y ago

savrajsingh 8y ago
Where can I read about how Curiousity’s hardware and software works at a low level so things like communications still work in safe mode? Truly fascinating engineering.
- wglb 8y ago
  https://www.amazon.com/Mars-Rover-Curiosity-Curiositys-Engineer/dp/1588344037 https://www.amazon.com/Mars-Rover-Curiosity-Curiositys-Engin...
  - savrajsingh 8y ago
    thanks, ordered
    - sho_hn 8y ago
      Could someone who's read both compare the two books that have been linked? The !GP one sounds much more technical going by reviews on Amazon. The GP one sounds more about the organizational challenge (both are interesting).
      - andyjohnson0 8y ago
        I haven't read either, but Emily Lakdawalla's book is published by Springer Praxis, and I find that their books tend to be satisfyingly technical and detailed.
- mholt 8y ago
  https://www.amazon.com/Design-Engineering-Curiosity-Performs-Springer/dp/3319681443 https://www.amazon.com/Design-Engineering-Curiosity-Performs...
- ZeKZ 8y ago
  Not a read, but there was this cool conference called "The Mars Rover On-board Computer" last year at 35C3 : https://media.ccc.de/v/35c3-9783-the_mars_rover_on-board_computer https://media.ccc.de/v/35c3-9783-the_mars_rover_on-board_com...
- mrnobody_07 8y ago
  https://astroengineer.wordpress.com/2010/04/07/a-curiosity-of-spirit-full-document/ https://astroengineer.wordpress.com/2010/04/07/a-curiosity-o...
davmar 8y ago
happy to hear comcast support was able to help out on mars. just unplug it and plug it back in.
jrowley 8y ago
So how cautious are you when debugging a valuable system like this? I imagine you’re not allowed to just ssh and `sudo -u less logs`
- 05 8y ago
  'less' with 29 minute ping is no fun..
  - jrowley 8y ago
    Try entering a password interactively /s
    - teddyh 8y ago
      ^] telnet> mode line
- ehnto 8y ago
  I wonder if they run a paralell earth based system to run simulations on first.
  - dandelany 8y ago
    Yes - several, at varying degrees of fidelity, the highest of which is an exact replica rover named MAGGIE that lives in the garage next to the JPL “Mars Yard”.
    - larkeith 8y ago
      TIL - that's really cool, though surprisingly difficult to find info about.
- scegit 8y ago
  Debugging a system like this must very scary because of the tremendous responsibility. It is intersting to know how they actually communicate with it and handle auth.
crashbunny 8y ago
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nn2FB1P_Mn8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nn2FB1P_Mn8 have you tried turning it off and on again?
dvno42 8y ago
Does anyone have more info on this? From what I recall there are mirrored systems with duplicate CPUs, memory, flash, etc. In the event of issues with one computer, they failover to the second. Was this an issue with something on the "A/primary", "B/backup" computer, or something more global?
- ZeKZ 8y ago
  Take a look at this : https://media.ccc.de/v/35c3-9783-the_mars_rover_on-board_computer#t=991 https://media.ccc.de/v/35c3-9783-the_mars_rover_on-board_com... Around 25:45, there is a quick part about the CPU A flash issues on Sol 200.
mnemotechny 8y ago
Once again proven to be true... What don't kill you will make you stronger!
WalterSobchak 8y ago
Here is the source JPL article: https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=7339 https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=7339
papito 8y ago
Just restart the Docker container. Amateurs!

70 points by wglb 8y ago

Where can I read about how Curiousity’s hardware and software works at a low level so things like communications still work in safe mode? Truly fascinating engineering.

wglb 8y ago
https://www.amazon.com/Mars-Rover-Curiosity-Curiositys-Engineer/dp/1588344037 https://www.amazon.com/Mars-Rover-Curiosity-Curiositys-Engin...
- savrajsingh 8y ago
  thanks, ordered
  - sho_hn 8y ago
    Could someone who's read both compare the two books that have been linked? The !GP one sounds much more technical going by reviews on Amazon. The GP one sounds more about the organizational challenge (both are interesting).
    - andyjohnson0 8y ago
      I haven't read either, but Emily Lakdawalla's book is published by Springer Praxis, and I find that their books tend to be satisfyingly technical and detailed.
mholt 8y ago
https://www.amazon.com/Design-Engineering-Curiosity-Performs-Springer/dp/3319681443 https://www.amazon.com/Design-Engineering-Curiosity-Performs...
ZeKZ 8y ago
Not a read, but there was this cool conference called "The Mars Rover On-board Computer" last year at 35C3 : https://media.ccc.de/v/35c3-9783-the_mars_rover_on-board_computer https://media.ccc.de/v/35c3-9783-the_mars_rover_on-board_com...
mrnobody_07 8y ago
https://astroengineer.wordpress.com/2010/04/07/a-curiosity-of-spirit-full-document/ https://astroengineer.wordpress.com/2010/04/07/a-curiosity-o...

davmar 8y ago

happy to hear comcast support was able to help out on mars. just unplug it and plug it back in.

jrowley 8y ago

So how cautious are you when debugging a valuable system like this? I imagine you’re not allowed to just ssh and `sudo -u less logs`

05 8y ago
'less' with 29 minute ping is no fun..
- jrowley 8y ago
  Try entering a password interactively /s
  - teddyh 8y ago
    ^] telnet> mode line
ehnto 8y ago
I wonder if they run a paralell earth based system to run simulations on first.
- dandelany 8y ago
  Yes - several, at varying degrees of fidelity, the highest of which is an exact replica rover named MAGGIE that lives in the garage next to the JPL “Mars Yard”.
  - larkeith 8y ago
    TIL - that's really cool, though surprisingly difficult to find info about.
scegit 8y ago
Debugging a system like this must very scary because of the tremendous responsibility. It is intersting to know how they actually communicate with it and handle auth.

crashbunny 8y ago

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nn2FB1P_Mn8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nn2FB1P_Mn8 have you tried turning it off and on again?

dvno42 8y ago

Does anyone have more info on this? From what I recall there are mirrored systems with duplicate CPUs, memory, flash, etc. In the event of issues with one computer, they failover to the second. Was this an issue with something on the "A/primary", "B/backup" computer, or something more global?

ZeKZ 8y ago
Take a look at this : https://media.ccc.de/v/35c3-9783-the_mars_rover_on-board_computer#t=991 https://media.ccc.de/v/35c3-9783-the_mars_rover_on-board_com... Around 25:45, there is a quick part about the CPU A flash issues on Sol 200.

mnemotechny 8y ago

Once again proven to be true... What don't kill you will make you stronger!

WalterSobchak 8y ago

Here is the source JPL article: https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=7339 https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=7339

papito 8y ago

Just restart the Docker container. Amateurs!