The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (JHU/APL) is leading the NASA funded Interstellar Probe study to explore the "Very Local" interstellar medium. To perform this exploration the mission will be required to last at least 50 years. Paramount to this effort are questions about the longevity of such a mission. Evidence exists that spacecraft can indeed last a long time. Voyager Ⅰ and Ⅱ are over 40 years old, Pioneer 10 and 11 lasted 30 years and 22 years, respectively, and New Horizons is still active 14 years after launch. There are questions on whether the longevity of the hardware, particularly electronics, for the systems built in the 1970s and 1980s can be extrapolated to the hardware being considered today. This paper examines, in part, the relevant electronic part characteristics and failure mechanisms. Where significant differences occur, a physics of failure (PoF) approach to testing and design is needed.
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