Case Study: NASA improves Curiosity Rover software reliability with GrammaTech CodeSonar

Mars Curiosity Rover Searches for Signs of Life with the Help of GrammaTech’s CodeSonar

NASA needed a way to improve the reliability of the software controlling the Mars Curiosity Rover, since the landing sequence was fully software-driven and every mission phase depended on code working correctly the first time. The rover used more than 2 million lines of software, and NASA turned to GrammaTech’s CodeSonar for advanced static analysis during development.

GrammaTech worked with NASA to extend CodeSonar so it could automatically enforce NASA’s “Power of 10” coding rules and flag generic programming defects. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory used CodeSonar to check Curiosity software nightly for bugs, supporting the rover’s successful landing and ongoing mission updates, including a four-day software update after landing.

NASA