Ask HN: Software and programming languages on the Mars Perseverance mission

#1

Post by peebz » Thu, Feb 18, 2021, 4:30 PM UTC

What software and programming languages are being used for the various systems on the Perseverance mission to Mars? What are the design principles and mission constraints that have influenced the choices that have been made?

Re: Ask HN: Software and programming languages on the Mars Perseverance mission

#2

Post by tectonic » Thu, Feb 18, 2021, 5:00 PM UTC

Check out NASA's Software Engineering Handbook: https://standards.nasa.gov/standard/nasa/nasa-hdbk-2203

Re: Ask HN: Software and programming languages on the Mars Perseverance mission

#3

Post by ampdepolymerase » Thu, Feb 18, 2021, 5:11 PM UTC

Probably the usual aerospace stack: C/C++ and Ada doing the heavy lifting. Since memory is no longer a (significant) space constraint in 2021, I suspect other high level languages are also used for the non-critical parts of the system.

Re: Ask HN: Software and programming languages on the Mars Perseverance mission

#4

Post by whalesalad » Thu, Feb 18, 2021, 5:20 PM UTC

https://www.cio.com/article/3569577/the-technology-aboard-th...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_embedded_compute...

Re: Ask HN: Software and programming languages on the Mars Perseverance mission

#5

Post by virgil_disgr4ce » Thu, Feb 18, 2021, 5:30 PM UTC

ampdepolymerase wrote: post #3

Probably the usual aerospace stack: C/C++ and Ada doing the heavy lifting. Since memory is no longer a (significant) space constraint in 2021, I suspect other high level languages are also used for the non-critical parts of the system.

> Since memory is no longer a (significant) space constraint in 2021

Is this definitely true in the context of astronautics?

Re: Ask HN: Software and programming languages on the Mars Perseverance mission

#6

Post by harveywi » Thu, Feb 18, 2021, 5:42 PM UTC

ampdepolymerase wrote: post #3

Probably the usual aerospace stack: C/C++ and Ada doing the heavy lifting. Since memory is no longer a (significant) space constraint in 2021, I suspect other high level languages are also used for the non-critical parts of the system.

> memory is no longer a (significant) space constraint

I see what you did there.

Re: Ask HN: Software and programming languages on the Mars Perseverance mission

#7

Post by bootloop » Thu, Feb 18, 2021, 6:51 PM UTC

virgil_disgr4ce wrote: post #5

ampdepolymerase wrote: post #3

Probably the usual aerospace stack: C/C++ and Ada doing the heavy lifting. Since memory is no longer a (significant) space constraint in 2021, I suspect other high level languages are also used for the non-critical parts of the system.

> Since memory is no longer a (significant) space constraint in 2021 Is this definitely true in the context of astronautics?

The main computer of Perseverance (and Curiosity) has 256 megabytes of RAM. Which is only twice of what Spirit and Opportunity had so I wouldn't call this a significant increase. (Even Pathfinder had 128 in 1997 but wasn't a rover.)

Re: Ask HN: Software and programming languages on the Mars Perseverance mission

#8

Post by sul_tasto » Thu, Feb 18, 2021, 7:15 PM UTC

harveywi wrote: post #6

ampdepolymerase wrote: post #3

Probably the usual aerospace stack: C/C++ and Ada doing the heavy lifting. Since memory is no longer a (significant) space constraint in 2021, I suspect other high level languages are also used for the non-critical parts of the system.

> memory is no longer a (significant) space constraint I see what you did there.

the universe is expanding, after all...