The two companies are providing the technology behind a high-tech microrover to traverse the surface of Mars.
Launched December 4, 1996, the NASA Pathfinder craft will reach the Martian surface Friday. The microrover will be operated for 7 Martian days, while data will be gathered for an additional 23. Each day on Mars lasts 24.6 hours.
Pathfinder is NASA's first landing on Mars in almost 20 years. It is the first time the agency has deployed a vehicle capable of exploring the planet's surface.
A Silicon Graphics visualization supercomputer will manage all the processing and control functions required to maneuver the microrover. The microrover will see the planet's surface through "eyes" provided by the Kodak.
The SGI Onyx2 supercomputer and an SGI "Octane" workstation will receive and process images and data from the unmanned probe and handle the immense amounts of information being relayed from Mars as scientists guide the rover over the planet's surface.
SGI systems will also be used to create the composite images built from the data for visualization purposes, as well as allow Internet users to watch the mission on the agency's Web site. There, users will be able to follow the mission, interact with data from the project, and pilot a simulated microrover through a 3D environment.
The Pathfinder mission is the second launch in the Discovery program, NASA's series of planetary missions. The Mars Pathfinder missions is being run by Caltech's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.