Design challenges and methodology for developing new integrated circuits for the robotics exploration of the solar system

Next generation space-based robotics systems will be constructed using distributed architectures where electronics capable of working in the extreme environments of the planets of the solar system are integrated with the sensors and actuators in plug-and-play modules and are connected through common multiple redundant data and power buses. Challenges for development of integrated circuits for these robotic systems deal with the reliable operation of these systems under extreme planetary environments. These challenges are compounded by a complementary set of packaging and assembly issues that address the reliability of the system from the mechanical point of view. Without exception integrated electronics developed for space systems will have to use existing commercial device and VLSI manufacturing technologies. Because of the severe difference between the extreme environment of the solar system planets and Earth, IC designers of space systems have to examine the performance of all the devices in the extreme environment conditions and define a new set of design rules and models that predicts the performance and life cycle of these technologies.