NASA Sends OTA Update to a Vehicle 140 Million Miles Away

America sent them all to Mars, and by all I mean the Sojourner, Spirit and Opportunity, Curiosity, and Perseverance. Only the last two, Curiosity and Perseverance, still roam the reddish Martian plains, with the latter being the youngest, thanks to its landing in the Jezero crater in 2021.

Being so new means the Perseverance is also the most advanced rover ever sent there, and the one most in the news these days. But the older Curiosity (it landed on Mars in 2012), still has some kick left in it, a potential NASA doesn't want to see going to waste.

So last week the American space agency let us know the Curiosity is now operating brand new software, thanks to an update sent wirelessly through the vacuum of space, to a point over 140 million miles (225 million km) away.

The update was sent over at the beginning of the month, but we're only now learning about it. It targeted several of Curiosity’s capabilities (in all, some 180 changes to how the rover operates have been made), but most importantly the way it moves on the Martian surface.

You see, unlike Perseverance, which moves about in one continuous drive (this is possible thanks to a dedicated computer processing the images of the terrain ahead, so the rover doesn't get into trouble), Curiosity drives in segments. It moves, snaps pictures of the terrain ahead, stops for a minute to look at them, and only then it moves on, only to repeat the process many times over.

The huge software update, the first since 2016, will allow Curiosity to process the images faster, thus reducing the stop time for each segment from a minute to “just a moment or two” (it's unclear what that means). The reduced stop times will allow the rover to cover the distance between two points faster.

Separately, NASA also tweaked how the rover steers while driving in an arc. By improving traction and allowing it to reduce the amount of steering needed to reach its destination, scientists hope to add an extra layer of protection for the rover's wheels, which have been known ever since 2013 to be affected by the sharp Martian rocks.

The procedure was performed in the first decade of April and required the Curiosity to stop science and imaging operations for five days. It now seems all the bits of the software are working as they should, with the people behind the update relieved things are in order.

Initially, Curiosity was supposed to be operational for just two years, but its mission has been extended indefinitely. Or, at least until it breaks.