I agree that the point is interesting. Part of it is the differentness of the environment (high radiation, low temperature, microgravity, great distance). Thi

I agree that the point is interesting. Part of it is the differentness of the environment (high radiation, low temperature, microgravity, great distance). This necessitates a rethinking of design constraints at a fundamental physical level -- i.e. deriving system constraints from first principles. Another part of it is the unique nature of a lot of the stuff we send out there -- rovers to Mars, planetary orbiters with exotic cameras, Earth-orbiting satellites with hyperspectral imagers or advanced radars, powerful telescopes with cryogenic optical/infrared cameras. Here's an example (.mov): http://marsrover.nasa.gov/gallery/video/movies/mer_ch_edl_TerrorComb.mov http://marsrover.nasa.gov/gallery/video/movies/mer_ch_edl_Te... from http://marsrover.nasa.gov/gallery/video/challenges.html http://marsrover.nasa.gov/gallery/video/challenges.html