The Flash Memory That Space Can’t Destroy

Capturing images in deep space like this image of Pluto is one challenge but storying the data has its own challenges. Radiation in deep space easily corrupt stored data (Credit : NASA/Johns Hopkins University)

Every byte of data a spacecraft collects, every image, every reading, every scientific measurement has to survive one of the most hostile environments imaginable. Space is awash with radiation, and that radiation is the silent enemy of conventional data storage. Now, a team of researchers have built a new kind of memory chip that doesn’t just tolerate radiation, it laughs in its face. Using a quirk of physics called ferroelectricity, this technology can withstand radiation levels equivalent to 100 million X-rays, and it could transform how we store data on missions heading deeper into the Solar System than we’ve ever ventured before.

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