Christine Thropp
CAES will deliver mission flight computer and radiation hardened microelectronics to Astrobotic for use on the space robotics company’s Peregrine and Griffin landers scheduled to conduct missions on the Moon in 2022 and 2023.
GR712RC is a LEON3FT SPARC V8 flight control processor built by CAES to provide landers with low power, multi-core capability, the company said Tuesday.
It is also equipped with SpaceWire PHYs, CAN Transceivers, NOR Flash Memory and other RadHard devices to enable advanced space computing capabilities.
David Young, chief technology officer of CAES, said the deliveries to Astrobotic will increase the number of company-made microelectronics already deployed throughout the solar system, including on Mars.
“For over 60 years, space has been at the heart of what we do. Astrobotic’s lunar landers are helping to usher a new era in space missions to the moon,” he added.
The Peregrine is scheduled for moon landing in 2022 while the Griffin is expected to carry the water-hunting Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover of NASA to the lunar surface in 2023.
