NASA unveils AI chips up to 100x

NASA said on May 12 that its next-generation High Performance Spaceflight Computing processor is now in testing, confirming claims that a new radiation-hardened chip is being built for future spacecraft. The project is led through NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate and Jet Propulsion Laboratory, with Microchip Technology named as the industry partner on the broader HPSC effort. NASA said the processor is designed to provide up to 100 times the computational capacity of current spaceflight computers while surviving the radiation, temperature swings and shock loads of spaceflight. JPL said early indications from testing show the processor operating at 500 times the performance of the radiation-hardened chips currently in use. ### Which NASA chip are people talking about? NASA’s May 12 announcement refers to the High Performance Spaceflight Computing processor, or HPSC, a system-on-chip program the agency has been developing for several years. NASA said the processor is the centerpiece of a broader effort to modernize onboard computing for missions that now rely on older, space-qualified chips. (nasa.gov) The July 11, 2024 HPSC FAQ describes the processor as a 5th-generation RISC-V CPU-based system on a chip developed with JPL and industry partners led by Microchip Technology. That document says HPSC is aimed at workloads including artificial intelligence, machine learning, autonomy, real-time control and sensor fusion. (nasa.gov) ### Did NASA just “unveil” it this week? NASA first publicly tied the HPSC program to a procurement contract in August 2022, when JPL selected Microchip Technology of Chandler, Arizona, to develop the processor under a $50 million firm-fixed-price contract. NASA said at the time the chip was expected to provide at least 100 times the computational capacity of current spaceflight computers. (nasa.gov) The new development this week is the testing update, not the first disclosure of the program. NASA and JPL said on May 12, 2026 that the hardware is undergoing radiation, thermal, shock and functional testing in Southern California. ### Where do the 100x and 500x figures come from? NASA’s own project pages use the 100x figure in several ways. (nasa.gov) The May 12 NASA and JPL article says the processor is designed to provide “up to 100 times the computational capacity” of current spaceflight computers, while a NASA project page says the technology delivers “over 100 times the computing capability” of current space processors. A NASA white paper from 2024 separately says HPSC is intended to achieve more than 100x improvement in performance per watt over current space-qualified computers. (nasa.gov) The 500x figure comes from Jim Butler, NASA’s High Performance Space Computing project manager at JPL. In the May 12 NASA article, Butler said testing that began in February has produced “promising” results, with indications showing the processor operating at 500 times the performance of the radiation-hardened chips currently in use. NASA’s public write-up does not attach that number to a single universal benchmark, and Butler linked the testing to high-fidelity landing scenarios from real NASA missions. (nasa.gov) ### Why does radiation hardening matter for AI in space? NASA said spacecraft processors must survive high-energy particles from the Sun and interstellar space, which can trigger errors and push a spacecraft into safe mode. That requirement has historically forced missions to use older, slower chips that are proven to endure harsh conditions. (nasa.gov) The HPSC design is meant to change that tradeoff. NASA’s FAQ says the chip combines radiation hardening, fault tolerance, scalable multicore processing and integrated vector engines for AI and machine-learning workloads. NASA’s project page says the radiation-hardened version is intended for geosynchronous, deep-space and long-duration missions to the Moon, Mars and beyond, while a radiation-tolerant variant is aimed at commercial low Earth orbit satellites. (nasa.gov) ### Is this the same thing as NASA’s separate AI accelerator work? NASA is also funding other AI hardware projects. A NASA TechPort entry updated April 30, 2026 describes a separate radiation-hardened AI inference accelerator project led by Mentium Technologies that is being tested for suborbital flight and is designed to consume less than 0.4 watts. That means the viral posts are broadly pointing to a real NASA effort, but the main chip now being tested and described with the 100x and 500x figures is HPSC, the agency’s next-generation spaceflight processor program. (nasa.gov) NASA said testing began in February at JPL and will continue for several months. Microchip remains the named commercial partner on the HPSC program, according to NASA’s project materials. (nasa.gov) (techport.nasa.gov)