NASA’s Curiosity rover will move faster and reduce wear and tear on its wheels thanks to two new features included in a major software update. The update contains many improvements, the most significant of which are new maneuvering capabilities. A software update of the rover, which has been operating on Mars since 2012, was planned for 2016. More than 180 changes were made to the firmware of the rover.

The most important of them is that Curiosity has learned to “think” on the go. Unlike its “colleague” Perseverance, which can work continuously, photographing and processing data about the terrain in front and behind, Curiosity had to stop periodically to process data from the section of the track taken. The rover simply does not have a special computer for this. In principle, the process has not changed, but the new software will allow you to process photos faster and, due to this, move faster. The one-minute stop was reduced to a few seconds.

The new software helps reduce wheel wear. The rover will adjust its speed to the soil properties. Curiosity’s steering wheel on curved sections of the path was also improved, and control of the manipulator became more efficient. In general, the update will significantly simplify the work of the rover’s “drivers” and make its work more efficient.

For the purpose of updating, it was necessary to curtail the rover’s photography and scientific activities in the period from April 3 to 7. It was a relief for the mission team to see that the reinstalled software was working.

Dazzling Martian sunset. NASA’s veteran rover Curiosity saw bright sunlight on the Red Planet for the first time

Sources: NASA, Alpha Centauri