FPGAs ride to Mars
NASA’s Phoenix mission to Mars, recently launched from Cape Canaveral, is carrying a Meteorological Station (MET), provided by the Canadian Space Agency. The MET’s instrument subsystem features a 1million gate Actel fpga.
The Phoenix mission will study the history of water and habitability potential in the Martian arctic. The MET will record the daily weather of the Martian northern plains using temperature and pressure sensors.
According to Rich Brossart, vp of product marketing at Actel: “Actel’s antifuse based technology combines radiation tolerance with low power, enabling it to withstand the rigorous environments of space flight and exploration.”
