The European Space Agency's Mars Express has recently received significant upgrades as it ditches Microsoft Windows 98.
The Martian probe of the international space agency is roaming the red planet to help the scientists unravel the potential hints of ancient life.
Mars Express Gets Huge Software Update
According to ZDNet's report, Mars Express and the Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionosphere Sounding or MARSIS water probe have recently updated their operating systems after 19 years since its launch.
This means that a new potential has been unlocked for the probe and a lot of upgrades are now on the way. This would help the astronomers to see Mars and its composition of a higher quality.
"Not least because the MARSIS software was originally designed over 20 years ago, using a development environment based on Microsoft Windows 98!" ESA's blog reads, per Tom's Hardware.
Related Article : [PHOTO] Mars Express Captures Strange Crater on Mars
What Will the New Software Do For MARSIS
Regarding the software of the Mars probe, the Italy-based team Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica has rolled out significant major updates for MARSIS.
The researchers behind the software said that the upgrade focuses more on improving image processing, as well as data resolution. Additionally, this is a huge boost in relaying the data that is transported back to the Earth.
As per INAF's operation manager Andrea Ciccheti, the team was previously using a "complex" technique when keeping high-quality data gathered from the Red planet. There's also a dedicated instrument used for storing the images.
Ciccheti, who led the team behind MARSIS's software upgrade, added that the new improvement allows them to switch the probe on for a longer period. This means that they get to explore a vast range of areas at each trial.
The outdated methods have already proven the presence of water on the Martian terrain. However, these techniques lack reliability in determining the sources of water on the planet.
With that in mind, the software will aid the scientists in monitoring the presence of this component on Mars.
According to Colin Wilson, a Mars Express scientist from ESA, the researchers have not yet discovered some Martian regions that possibly contain water.
Keeping these places on track in high resolution would mean that the software upgrade is a wonderful breakthrough that happened to Mars Express two decades after its launch.
Martian Landscape From Rover's Perspective
In other news, NASA's Curiosity Rover has snapped an awe-striking photo of Mars's landscape. At the time, the robotic vehicle also spotted dry dunes, which indicated that the planet was extremely dry.
Before capturing the iconic image of the ever-changing terrain, the rover went into safe mode because of the unstable temperature on the planet.
This article is owned by Tech Times
Written by Joseph Henry
