Has Java ever been used in outer space? [closed]

Question

In response to a question about examples of Java usages, I bumped across some articles where NASA used Java for ground control in a mission to Mars but I couldn't find out if it has ever been used outside of Earth. Do you know of any such instances?

Answer 1

Here you will find a paper discussing the current state of using Java in space applications:

REAL-TIME JAVA IN SPACE: POTENTIAL BENEFITS AND OPEN CHALLENGES

They say:

In short time, it is unlikely that with current Java implementations the whole spacecraft on-board software could be written in Java. However, Java could be used as an isolation platform for software that has not been assigned the highest criticality, while the critical code would still be written in Ada or C.

Here one of the same authors reports on a successful test flight of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that uses Ovm (open source RTSJ (Real Time Specification for Java) implementation):

A Real-time Java Virtual Machine for Avionics

Answer 2

One fact often overlooked is that most space probes use older processors. They simply cannot run current commercial software. They are not fast enough or powerful enough. IC chips in space are exposed to high levels of cosmic rays. They energetic particles can destroy the small nanometer components on modern CPUs and other IC chips. To work reliably in space you either need specially designed ICs with redundant components, spend a lot on heavy shielding, or use older IC chips which have larger components that can take a hit from a cosmic ray without being destroyed.

Most of these older CPUs will run with a RTOS such as VxWorks and are either programed in assembler or using a language like C and still get decent performance.

Answer 3

Probably on the documentation laptops they take up there on the Shuttle, at the very least.

Java is also mentioned here, which implies that there is at least Java code that can talk to some spacecraft, if not actually run on them: http://www.dtnrg.org/wiki/Code