CMACS Researchers Directly Involved in the Development of the Complex Software for the Curiosity Rover

CMACS researchers at NASA/JPL were directly involved in the development of the complex software that controls the Mars Science Laboratory mission. The Curiosity Rover successfully made a soft landing on the surface of Mars a few weeks ago, using a never-before attempted sky-crane mechanism. The software for the Rover was verified with both static analysis and with advanced logic model checking techniques, in an effort to help make the code as robust as possible. So far, the software has performed flawlessly.

The control software for this spacecraft is among the most complex of any system, which is precisely why the use of advanced verification techniques, as explored in the CMACS project, can be crucial.

Please see http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/ for more information about the Mars Science Laboratory mission.