Not only human beings can have problems during space missions because of the radiations but also electronic equipment may suffer malfunctioning. For this reason, there are microprocessors designed specifically to work in those conditions. Since the ’90s, ESA plans microprocessors starting from existing designs and adapting them to be used in space missions. Today ESA uses microprocessors of the LEON series.

In 2008, the Encanto supercomputer was ranked third among the fastest computers in the world, now the state of New Mexico, that funded its construction and maintenance, will probably dismantle it and sell it in pieces.

IBM announced that a significant step forward in what is called silicon nanophotonics, which the integration of optical communications with common silicon chips. This technology uses light pulses instead of electrical signals for communications and provides a kind of highway to transport large volumes of data between silicon chips.