Bayan kusan shekaru ashirin, Mars Express ya sami sabunta software

Ɗaya daga cikin mafi ƙanƙanta farashi na Hukumar Kula da Sararin Samaniya ta Turai da mafi kyawun ayyuka, Mars Express, a ƙarshe yana samun haɓaka software. 

Shekaru goma sha tara bayan ƙaddamar da shi, Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionospheric Sounding (MARSIS) kayan aikin Mars Express ba ya aiki akan software na Microsoft Windows 98. Wannan sabunta tsarin zai ba shi damar duba saman duniyar Mars da wata Phobos daki-daki.

Babban binciken kimiyya na farko na MARSIS ya faru ne a cikin 2018, lokacin da ya taimaka wajen gano wani tafki na karkashin kasa a duniyar Mars, wanda aka binne a karkashin kankara da kura mai nisan kilomita 1.5. Ta hanyar jagorantar raƙuman radiyo masu ƙarancin mitoci zuwa saman duniyar ta hanyar eriyarta mai tsayin mita 40, MARSIS ya sami damar yin tafiya ta hanyar watsa bayanai akan nau'ikan ɓangarorin Mars. Tun daga wannan lokacin, MARSIS ta gano ƙarin maɓuɓɓugar ruwa guda uku, wanda ya bayyana ɗimbin bayanai kan tsarin duniya da ilimin ƙasa. 

Duba: Jirgin sama mai saukar ungulu na NASA na Mars ya dauki wadannan hotuna na ban mamaki na kayan saukar da rover din

Sabuwar manhaja ta MARSIS, wadda aka kirkira ta Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica Ƙungiyar (INAF) a Italiya, ta haɗa da haɓakawa da aka tsara don inganta ƙuduri da sarrafa bayanai. An tsara waɗannan haɓakawa don ƙara adadin da ingancin bayanan da aka aika zuwa Duniya. 

"A baya, don yin nazarin abubuwan da suka fi muhimmanci a duniyar Mars, da kuma nazarin wata Phobos gaba daya, mun dogara da wata dabarar dabarar da ta adana bayanai masu girma da yawa kuma ta cika ma'aunin ƙwaƙwalwar na'urar da sauri," in ji shi. Andrea Cicchetti, MARSIS peputy PI kuma manajan gudanarwa a INAF, wanda ya jagoranci haɓaka haɓakawa.

"Ta hanyar watsar da bayanan da ba mu buƙata, sabuwar software tana ba mu damar kunna MARSIS har sau biyar kuma mu bincika yanki mafi girma tare da kowane fasinja."

Kamar yadda tsofaffin bayanai suka nuna kasancewar ruwa mai ruwa kusa da sandar kudancin Mars, yuwuwar sabunta software don aiwatar da bayanai da yawa na iya tabbatar da kasancewar sabbin hanyoyin ruwa a duniyar Mars.

A ƙarshe, Masanin kimiyyar ESA Mars Express Colin Wilson ya yi bayani: “Hakika yana kama da samun sabon kayan aiki a cikin jirgin Mars Express kusan shekaru 20 bayan ƙaddamar da shi.”