3 years ago

Category: Data, github

Nearly 50 spacecraft have been sent to Mars — each one more powerful than the last, Scientific American has reported. It’s been said that it’s the only planet we know of populated entirely by robots.

The open source operating system is a critical part of a project to deliver what may become the first aircraft ever to fly from the surface of Mars. And it’s all an inspiring example of a massively complex project that carries with it some of humanity’s best technologies — and also its best hopes.

NASA is estimating flights “up to 90 seconds, to distances of almost 980 feet (300 meters) at a time and about 10 to 15 feet from the ground.”