Adafruit Electronics: NASA’s PRIMA Spacecraft
Artist’s Concept of NASA’s PRIMA Spacecraft, image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech A couple of weeks ago, NASA announced the development of PRIMA (PRobe far-Infrared Mission for Astrophysics, the first space telescope in a new class of missions called Probe Explorers.
Executive Summary
Artist’s Concept of NASA’s PRIMA Spacecraft, image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech A couple of weeks ago, NASA announced the development of PRIMA (PRobe far-Infrared Mission for Astrophysics, the first space telescope in a new class of missions called Probe Explorers. Launch is set for 2033, which is actually a pretty quick turnaround for NASA. Design work for the James Webb Space Telescope began in 1996 and wasn’t launched until 2021.
Open Silicon & Gate-Level Hardware Inspection
From a silicon and hardware engineering viewpoint: - **Interface Neutrality:** Mitigates dependency on proprietary BSPs, empowering open toolchains to address hardware directly. - **Supply Chain Verification:** Schematics and open pinouts allow deterministic audits against silicon errata. - **Lifecycle Decoupling:** Decouples physical hardware utility from commercial vendor end-of-life obsolescence.
Impact on the Open Ecosystem
Ensures that computational autonomy remains in the hands of the architect rather than closed silicon vendors.