Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) plans to test a computer aboard a lunar rover, exploring whether AI can interpret data near the Moon’s South Pole before it is sent to Earth.
The Spaceborne Computer-4 module is slated to ride Astrolab’s FLIP rover. Voyager Technologies’ Griffin-1 lander is expected to deliver the rover to the lunar South Pole region under NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services program.
The project would move some analysis from ground teams to the place where the rover collects data. Mark Fernandez, HPE’s space technologies and solutions chief scientist, told Payload that analyzing data aboard the rover could let mission teams use the Earth link more efficiently and receive findings sooner.
HPE said large language models on the module will analyze visual data and support autonomous monitoring. Separate tests will process LiDAR data. The company also plans to run high-performance LINPACK (HPL) and high-performance conjugate gradient (HPCG), which measure computing performance. HPE says these would be the first executions of those benchmarks on the Moon, based on publicly available information as of Oct. 20.
NASA’s FLUID experiment will test whether a neural network trained on data from Earth, the Moon and the International Space Station can coordinate three separate AI models, HPE said. Deloitte plans to run Silent Shield on the module to detect cyber intrusions and flag anomalies through near-real-time analysis.
HPE also plans to supply HPE Private Cloud and HPE CloudOps Software for Astrolab’s mission control in Hawthorne, California. The company says the software will provide information to the mission team and manage automated workloads.
The module uses low-power CPU and GPU components and stores data on KIOXIA solid-state drives. It operates without fans. HPE said Spaceborne Computer-4 builds on its earlier computers deployed to the International Space Station; Payload reported that those versions flew in 2017, 2021 and 2024.
The lunar mission is expected to launch in late 2026.
