HPE Spaceborne Computer 4 to launch AI straight to the Moon aboard Astrolab’s FLIP rover
Mystery silicon and mirrored SSDs set to touch down before year's end
Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) plans to launch its fourth-generation Spaceborne Computer (SBC4) to the Moon by 2023. This advanced AI and high-performance computing platform will be part of NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program, aboard Astrolab's Flex Lunar Innovation Platform (FLIP) rover. SBC4 will be deployed near the Moon's south pole, where it will conduct AI and HPC experiments for a year.
The rover's limited power and thermal capacity require a compact system, measuring around 5x10 inches and about an inch thick. The FLIP rover will run a series of tuned Large Language Model (LLM) tests, including a retrieval augmented generation (RAG) system for searching and interpreting onboard documents, as well as machine learning algorithms on camera and LiDAR data.
SBC4 will also perform high-performance computing benchmarks like Linpack and HPCG. Its hardware includes a low-power CPU, a graphics processor, and a pair of mirrored Kioxia SSDs totaling 1 TB. HPE has invested in software-based redundancy to protect against radiation and other harsh lunar conditions.
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