A space mission experiment is always a critical application operating in a harsh environment. Therefore the reliability of the involved hardware and software systems, is a strongly desired quality during the whole mission. The space environment induces stresses on electronic components and can lead measurement systems to functional failures and loss of efficiency. Repairing the system during the mission is very difficult or impossible and investing on fault tolerant design poses also many constraints on weight, available time and manpower. On the other side the functionality can be...