Product category:
Programmable Logic Devices
News Release from: Actel Europe | Subject: Rad-hard FPGAs
Edited by the Electronicstalk Editorial
Team on 13 January 2005
Rad-hard FPGAs keep Mars Rovers running
Actel's radiation-tolerant and radiation-hardened FPGAs are continuing to perform critical functions in the Mars Exploration Rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, after a year on the surface of Mars.
Actel's radiation-tolerant and radiation-hardened field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) are continuing to perform critical functions in the Mars Exploration Rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, which have both surpassed the one-year mark of exploring the surface of Mars Among the highlights from the first year, the rovers have provided spectacular images of the Martian surface, enabling unprecedented study of the planet
This article was originally published on Electronicstalk on 6 Apr 2006 at 8.00am (UK)
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Rad-hard FPGAs survive Martian missions
Actel's radiation-tolerant and radiation-hardened field-programmable gate arrays are still performing critical functions throughout several ongoing Mars missions.
First flash-based industrial-grade FPGAs
Actel is shipping the industry's first flash-based "live-at-power-up" FPGA devices qualified to industrial specifications.
Actel FPGAs play instrumental roles in the camera electronics on each rover, among other functions.
The Actel devices were selected because of their proven track record of reliability and durability.
In fact, NASA has commented that even the rovers' designers are astounded by how well Spirit and Opportunity have continued to operate, with the longevity of the rovers making it possible to reach additional destinations and make new discoveries.
Further reading
Largest-yet claim for flash-based FPGAs
Actel is sampling the A500K180 and A500K270 flash-based ProASIC 500K gate FPGAs with 369,000 and 473,000 system gates, respectively.
Libero sweeps up full set of FPGA design tools
Libero is Actel's next-generation integrated design environment for field-programmable gate array (FPGA) development and design.
"The successful completion of the first anniversary of the Mars Rover Mission, with its extreme and critical conditions, is a testament to the performance and reliability of our FPGA technology", explained Ken O'Neill, Director of Military and Aerospace Product Marketing at Actel.
"The achievements of the rovers reinforce Actel's position as a key player in enabling significant breakthroughs in space exploration and further underscore the broad range of applications in which programmability and Actel FPGAs can be used".
A total of 28 Actel FPGAs have been used in the Mars Rover Mission.
Some devices implement critical functions on the Rover Electronics Module and the Lander Electronics Module that are currently deployed on the surface of the planet, as well as on the Cruise Module that was part of the propulsion system to the planet.
Others implement the camera electronics on the rovers.
The space-optimised FPGAs deliver the inherent benefits of Actel's nonvolatile products ae proven reliability at extreme temperatures and live at power-up functionality all on a single chip, which reduces component count, thereby minimising power consumption and saving board space and weight.
Actel FPGAs are designed to have a high tolerance to the radiation and temperatures that the rovers have been exposed to in space and on the Martian surface.
So far, the two rovers have made it through the worst of the Martian winter.
Over the last decade, Actel FPGAs have been onboard more than 100 launches and flown on over 300 satellites, including Atlas II, Echostar, SBIRS-High, International Space Station, Mars Pathfinder, Mars Explorer Rovers 1 and 2, Mars Express Orbiter, Spirit and Opportunity Rovers, and the Hubble Space Telescope.
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