Java runs remote-controlled Mars rover | CNET News.com

Java runs remote-controlled Mars rover | CNET News.com: "The same piece of software that lets people around the world play video games on their cell phones is now letting scientists drive the ultimate remote-controlled car across the surface of Mars.

With the same point-and-click skills one would need for, say, online shopping, the NASA team will plan Spirit's daily activities, page through voluminous data and communicate.

Java's journey from mundane to extraterrestrial began nearly a decade ago when JPL scientists began noodling with the programming language to create a command and control system for the 1995 Mars Sojourner, said James Gosling, known as "the father of Java."

Although Java's data-handling capabilities initially attracted NASA, the code's ability to transcend the many systems used by mission scientists and engineers sold the space agency, Gosling said.

Separately, Alameda, Calif.-based Wind River Systems created the embedded software in Spirit and its twin, Opportunity, that manage a wide range of functions, including data collection and communications."