Space enthusiasts, tech geeks and vintage lovers are in for a treat as a computer chip used in the 1965 Gemini 3 mission is now up for auction. The said piece of the past was part of the first ever computer ever flown to the outer space during the U.S. manned space mission.
The chip known as the Random Access Non-Destructive Readout Memory Plane or simply "Memory Plane," carries 4,096 bits of data which is equivalent to 512 bytes. To set a comparison against modern-day data usage, one email that contains the word "Hello," contains 8,000 bytes. Today's smartphones are said to be 250,000,000 times higher in capacity compared to the said chip.
The computer chip measures 4.25 inches and is located inside a computer that weighs about 26.8 kilograms or about 59 pounds.
The space gem, which will be up for bidding at Heritage Auctions in Texas, was used in the four and half hour space flight that orbited the Earth on March 23, 1965. The computer helped astronauts Gus Grissom and John Young carry through with their mission as it performed about 7,000 calculations per second.
Paul Ceruzzi, curator at the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum said that the memory plane, which contains "tiny doughnuts of magnetic material," set the tone for the lunar missions of Apollo. "Gemini was a rehearsal for that, in Earth orbit," he added.
Heritage Auctions historian Michael Riley commented that the little computer chip is accountable, in its own means, for unraveling the Space Age. "Look what it accomplished," he said.
Riley said it is amazing to think about what a chip with such large physical measurements and minimal capacity, helped to attain. He added that the computer chip is larger than majority of smartphones, which have million times more storage memory.
The initial price set by Heritage Auctions for the memory plane is $1,200. Online bidders may place their proposed amounts until Nov. 5. On Nov. 6, a live auction will be held, which will include an online element.
