Wind River’s VxWorks Powers Mars Science Laboratory Rover, Curiosity
August 06 2012 - 03:15AM
Business Wire
Wind River®, a world leader in
embedded and mobile software, congratulates NASA Jet Propulsion
Laboratory (JPL) on the successful landing of the Mars Science
Laboratory rover Curiosity, powered by Wind River technology.
Curiosity, which landed on Mars at approximately 10:31 p.m. PDT,
August 5, 2012, is the most complex robotic interplanetary probe
ever designed. It is running on Wind River's industry-leading
real-time operating system (RTOS), VxWorks®.
Curiosity will investigate whether Mars has ever offered
environmental conditions favorable for microbial life, and assess
Mars’ habitability for future human exploration. VxWorks plays a
central role in this historic operation by providing the core
operating system for the spacecraft control system—from the second
the rocket left Earth on November 26, 2011, until completion of the
mission.
Curiosity relied on VxWorks for the complex landing sequence
called EDL (entry, descent and landing), which is being described
as “seven minutes of terror” due to the absolute precision required
for the spacecraft to survive the landing. While on Mars, Curiosity
will depend on VxWorks to perform mission-critical tasks, such as
ground operations control, data collection, and Mars-to-Earth
communication relay.
Wind River has an extensive heritage of achievements in space
working with NASA JPL, dating back to 1994, when VxWorks launched
into space on the Clementine Moon probe. This was followed by the
Mars Pathfinder Mission, which made VxWorks the first commercial
operating system to go to Mars. Wind River technology also operates
within the Mars Exploration Rovers and Stardust spacecraft, among
others.
"Wind River congratulates NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory on the
successful landing of Curiosity on Mars, a groundbreaking milestone
for space exploration worldwide,” said Ken Klein, president, Wind
River. “For more than two decades, Wind River’s reliable and secure
software has served as a key foundational technology for aerospace
organizations globally, and we are extremely proud to continue our
legacy as a technology provider for NASA JPL’s space programs.”
Since its inception in 1981, Wind River has been a trusted
advisor in the development of aerospace and defense products. The
company's technology has successfully enabled countless products in
the reaches of our universe, including CIRA’s FTB-1 reusable
unmanned spacecraft, Iridium Communications’ in-orbit satellite
constellation, and the European Space Agency's PROBA satellite,
among others.
To learn more about Mars Science Laboratory and Curiosity, visit
www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/msl/index.html.
For additional information on the role of Wind River technology
in Curiosity, including a case study and video, visit
www.windriver.com/announces/curiosity/.
To learn more about Wind River’s aerospace solutions, visit
www.windriver.com/solutions/aerospace-defense/.
About Wind River
Wind River, a wholly owned subsidiary of Intel Corporation
(NASDAQ: INTC), is a world leader in embedded and mobile software.
Wind River has been pioneering computing inside embedded devices
since 1981, and its technology is found in more than 1 billion
products. Wind River is headquartered in Alameda, Calif., with
offices in more than 20 countries. To learn more, visit Wind River
at www.windriver.com or on Facebook.
Wind River is a trademark or registered trademark of Wind River
Systems, Inc. and its affiliates. Other names may be the trademarks
of their respective owners.
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