Green Hills Helps JPL Go to Mars – Software Tools Critical to Mars Rover Missions

Green Hills
Software Inc. today announced that all the flight software aboard the
two Mars Exploration Rover missions was written by engineers from
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) using software development
tools from Green Hills Software. Both the “Opportunity” rover,
launched July 7, and the “Spirit” rover, launched June 10, are being
directed and controlled by software programs and systems written with
the use of Green Hills development tools.

“The two Mars rovers are essentially very sturdy, complex
computers,” said David Kleidermacher, vice president of engineering at
Green Hills. “And like every computer, they need specific software
programs to tell them how to perform all the complex functions of
space flight, landing and operation on the surface of Mars. The Green
Hills tools are the building blocks for those software programs.”

JPL engineers faced a number of unique challenges when building
the hardware and software for the two Mars rovers. They utilized the
expertise of Green Hills’ engineers to help them rebuild the rovers’
entire operating system software with one set of software tools. “Our
engineers were able to provide JPL with the right products and
professional knowledge — two elements that were critical to the
success of their Mars missions,” said Kleidermacher.

On-the-Fly Software Upgrade

The Mars rover “Spirit” is scheduled to land on the red planet
Jan. 3, 2004, with the “Opportunity” rover set for a Jan. 24, 2004,
landing. Between now and then, JPL engineers, with the help of Green
Hills Software’s products, will build a new version of software to be
uplinked to the Mars-bound rovers. This updated software will direct
the two rovers to their precise landing targets on Mars and enable
them to carry out their complex scientific mission once they arrive.

About Green Hills Software

Founded in 1982, Green Hills Software Inc. is the technology
leader for real-time operating systems and software development tools
for 32- and 64-bit embedded systems. The royalty-free INTEGRITY RTOS,
compilers, MULTI and AdaMULTI Integrated Development Environments and
Green Hills Probe product line offer a complete development solution
that addresses embedded systems from the lowest cost consumer products
to the most safety-critical aircraft flight systems. Green Hills
Software is headquartered in Santa Barbara, Calif., with European
headquarters in the United Kingdom.

Green Hills Software, the Green Hills logo, MULTI and INTEGRITY
are registered trademarks. AdaMULTI is a trademark of Green Hills
Software Inc. All other trademarks (registered or otherwise) are the
property of their respective companies. Brand or product names are
registered trademarks or trademarks of their respective holders.

North American Sales Contact: Green Hills Software Inc., 30 West
Sola Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93101, Tel: 805-965-6044, Fax:
805-965-6343, Web site: www.ghs.com, E-mail: sales@ghs.com.

International Sales Contact: Green Hills Software Ltd., Dolphin
House, St. Peter Street, Winchester Hampshire SO23 8BW, United
Kingdom, Tel: +44 (0)1962 829820, Fax: +44 (0)1962 890300, E-mail:
mktg-europe@ghs.com.

Contact:

     Green Hills Software Inc., Santa Barbara
     Lynn Robinson, 805-965-6044
     lynnr@ghs.com
           or
     Patterson & Associates
     Barbara Stewart, 480-488-6909
     barbara@patterson.com