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NASA JPL Curiosity


VxWorks Powers Mars Science Laboratory Rover, Curiosity

On August 6, 2012, NASA made an enormous advancement in space exploration when it landed the Mars Science Laboratory rover Curiosity in the Gale Crater on Mars. Curiosity is the most technologically advanced autonomous robotic spacecraft and geologist set ever to be deployed by any space venture. It’s on a groundbreaking mission to determine whether Mars is or has ever been capable of supporting life, and to assess its habitability for future human missions.


“Seven Minutes of Terror”

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 is depending on VxWorks to perform mission-critical tasks, such as ground operations control, data collection, and Mars-to-Earth communication relay. Curiosity will investigate whether Mars has ever offered environmental conditions favorable for microbial life, and assess Mars’ habitability for future human exploration.

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.