Frontgrade Microelectronics Arrive on Mars to Help Pioneer the Future of Space Missions

ARLINGTON, VA (February 18, 2021) — CAES announced today that its actuators and radiation hardened (RadHard) microelectronics have touched down on the red planet as part of NASA’s MARS2020 Perseverance Rover Mission. It will now begin its nearly two-year quest to understand Mars’ atmosphere and geology, in addition to seeking signs of ancient microbial life.

“CAES is honored to serve on the Perseverance Mission and explore Mars once again,” said Mike Kahn, president and CEO, CAES. “Our components on the rover are designed specifically for the extreme environmental conditions ahead. We are excited to watch the mission unfold and to continue pioneering electronics that cultivate the future of space exploration.”

Launched in July 2020, the Perseverance traveled nearly 300 million miles through space to reach Mars today. Throughout the mission, CAES actuators will drive the Perseverance rover wheels and provide steering motion, move the high-gain antenna and perform remote sensing mast deployment. The Perseverance electronics and payloads are based on CAES' longstanding technology and investments in microprocessors, memory and power. 

Specific to this mission are the UT699 LEON Microprocessor, which handles the computing functions for the motor controls, as well as the UT54LVDS217 LVDS Serializer, UT54LVDS218 Deserializer and a variety of memory devices including the UT8MR2M8 MRAM, UT8Q512K32 SRAM and UT8QNF8M8 NOR Flash.

About CAES

CAES is the largest provider of analog and radiation hardened technology for the United States aerospace and defense industry. With a broad portfolio of off-the-shelf and customized RF, microwave and high reliability microelectronic products and subsystems, CAES offers a complete range of solutions for the entire signal chain from aperture to digital conversion. www.caes.com

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Media Contact
Liz Ryan Sax
Frontgrade Technologies
+1 (719) 487-4259
press@frontgrade.com