NASA Expands Its IT Firepower with Launch of Athena Supercomputer

With massive computing strength and modern IT architecture, NASA’s Athena system is set to transform how space missions are designed, tested, and delivered.

NASA has taken a major step forward in its IT services and computing capabilities with the launch of Athena, a powerful new supercomputer now live at the agency’s Modular Supercomputing Facility at the Ames Research Center in California.

Athena delivers an impressive 20.13 petaflops of computing power, meaning it can perform more than 20 quadrillion calculations every second. Built on AMD EPYC Turin processors, the system replaces the aging Pleiades supercomputer, which recently completed its service after years of supporting NASA missions.

Designed as part of NASA’s High-End Computing Capability program, Athena is made up of 1,024 computing nodes and nearly 800 terabytes of memory. It will be available not only to NASA teams but also to external scientists and researchers who support NASA programs, making it a shared digital backbone for innovation.

NASA leaders say the new system is critical as missions become more complex and data-heavy. Athena is built to support everything from spacecraft design and climate modeling to mission simulations and advanced research, core IT services that modern space exploration depends on.

The launch comes at a crucial time. Recent internal reviews highlighted that NASA’s computing systems have been stretched thin, with demand often exceeding available capacity. While Athena strengthens the agency’s CPU-based infrastructure, it also complements other systems in NASA’s computing fleet, some of which now include advanced GPU technology.

With Athena now online, NASA is reinforcing its commitment to modern, scalable IT services ensuring researchers have the speed, reliability, and computing muscle needed to push the boundaries of science and space exploration.