Chippenham software company SCISYS has signed a £1.6m deal with Airbus Defence and Space Ltd to work on a mission to Mars.
In 2018, the European Space Agency (ESA) will launch, land and operate a robotic rover to explore the planet. SCISYS will develop the software responsible for navigating the rover on the surface.
Dr Horst Wulf, divisional director at SCISYS said: “This is an impressive result. Over the past years our space robotics team has gained significant experience and developed technical capabilities which are leading the way in Europe.”
Klaus Heidrich, CEO of SCISYS added: “SCISYS feels tremendous pride in being able to contribute to this prestigious European mission to Mars. It furthermore demonstrates the UK’s leading position in robotics and fully justifies the investment the UK government is making in this domain.”
The purpose of ESA’s ExoMars programme is to investigate the Martian environment and demonstrate new technologies, paving the way for a future Mars mission in the 2020s.
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