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Comment by zadler | Hacker News Reader

I don’t think the article mentions whether or not they can update the code remotely. Can they patch it?

Edit: appears so: https://astronomynow.com/2021/04/11/nasa-delays-mars-helicop...

OTA updates of the software are a hard requirement if your equipment is at 30 light minutes.

Actually, I remember reading somewhere that more and more they use FPGA chips, allowing to even "change out the CPU" if needed.

http://www.esa.int/Enabling_Support/Space_Engineering_Techno...

Is it still called OTA if there isn't any air?

There is air for the fist and last few dozens of kilometers (at varying density)

Over the Aether?

That isn't there either.

"The modern concept of the vacuum of space, confirmed every day by experiment, is a relativistic ether. But we do not call it this because it is taboo."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aether_theories#Quantum_vacuum

I am aware of the theory of quantum vacuum, but I generally take Aether to mean the old proposal as the medium light waves travel through. It has been refuted.

I think it can justifiably have a grander name than OTA.

Lets call it an "OPA" - Other Planet Update

Or perhaps "USTLLTFMMA" (updating software thats literally like thirty fucking million miles away)

As if Squats and Dusters would ever accept OPA

Underrated comment. #expanse

OPA Gangnam Style

Air doesn't have a strict definition right?

There's very clearly air, seeing as the helicopter is flying.

Over-the-antenna maybe, easier than a JTAG cable.

They were patching the Voyager probes in-flight more than 40 years ago :)

I pray it won't go dead after software flashing like my new laptop with a recent BIOS update ;)

When you've got redundant memory, you can do a lot safer flashes.

Sacrifice redundance, to maintain rollback capability, and flash one bank. Power on, test, and if test fails, restore to previous configuration.

Don't throw your laptop out, yet. Flash it directly. Well, depends on the laptop/chip ofcourse, but do your research: https://youtu.be/Gdehz26lYWM?t=173

it's running linux. apt-get update :)

(not sure what distro they're running)

It runs Fprime

https://nasa.github.io/fprime/

they implemented their own message queue?

this jogged my memory of an episode of linux unplugged podcast many months ago. https://linuxunplugged.com/396

"Tim Canham, the Mars Helicopter Operations Lead, shares Linux’s origins at JPL and how it ended up running on multiple boxes on Mars.

Plus the challenges Linux still faces before its ready for mission-critical space exploration."

edit: just saw someone already mentioned the podcast in this thread

>Plus the challenges Linux still faces before its ready for mission-critical space exploration

Can I get a tl;dr on this

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