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Forth has played a crucial role in space exploration as a lightweight and efficient programming language. It has been used in NASA's Voyager and Galileo probes, as well as ESA’s Rosetta mission, where reliability and minimal resource consumption are critical. The language’s ability to operate with low memory and allow interactive debugging makes it well-suited for space applications.

In space, modifying software after launch is extremely difficult, making reliability and flexibility essential. Forth’s stack-based, concise syntax enables real-time updates and remote debugging, allowing engineers to adjust commands from Earth. Unlike assembly language, Forth is less hardware-dependent, making it easier to adapt across different systems.

While C and Rust are now more common, Forth’s philosophy of minimalist design aligns with the principles of space exploration. As a language that maximizes functionality within constrained environments, Forth continues to prove its value beyond Earth.