Abstract :
How much software does it take to land a spacecraft safely on Mars, and how do you make all that code reliable? This column describes such a software development process. The first Web extra at http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/videos/movies/miam20121218/miam20121218-1280.mov is a 60-second video from NASA´s Jet Propulsion Laboratory that shows how NASA´s Mars rover drivers operate the vehicles from millions of miles away. The second Web extra at http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/videos/movies/msl20120827_curiositycommunicates/msl20120827_curiositycommunicates-1280.mov is an animated video showing how NASA´s Curiosity rover communicates with Earth via two of NASA´s Mars orbiters, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) and Odyssey, and the European Space Agency´s Mars Express. The third Web extra at http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/videos/movies/CoM20121207/CoM20121207-1280.mov is a video discussing the scientific study by NASA´s Curiosity Mars rover at Rocknest.
Keywords :
Earth; Mars; aerospace computing; artificial satellites; entry, descent and landing (spacecraft); planetary rovers; software reliability; Earth; European Space Agency Mars Express; Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter; NASA Curiosity rover communication; NASA Mars orbiters; NASA Mars rover drivers; NASA jet propulsion laboratory; Odyssey; Rocknest; code reliability; software development process; spacecraft landing; Encoding; Hardware; Mars; Performance evaluation; Software devlopment; Space missions; Space vehicles; impact; software; spacecraft;
