New Millennium DS2 electronic packaging an advanced electronic packaging "sandbox"

New Millennium Deep Space 2 (DS2), managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), consists of a pair of probes that will be carried to Mars by the Mars Polar Lander. After release from the Lander, both probes enter the atmosphere, impact and penetrate the Martian surface. After impact, a soil sample is taken and analyzed for the presence of water. Other scientific data is collected during descent and after impact. The proposed size and mass of the probes imposed enormous constraints on the packaging of the electronics. To fit the electronics within the probe envelope, the DS2 became a virtual advanced packaging experiment: Chip-on-Board (COB) technology, High Density Interconnect (HDI) technology, and novel flexible interconnects were used in a highly integrated package to meet the requirements. This paper describes the development and testing of the DS2 electronics package and possible follow-on developments at JPL.