NASA Takes Open Source Into Space

Open-source software has been making inroads into U.S. federal agencies for years, most notably in January when the U.S. Department of Defense set up an internal forge to host open-source software for use by the government.

Now NASA, not to be outdone, has created its own open-source software repository, with a diverse array of software available "as an essential response to the needs of NASA missions."

NASA indicates several purposes for making its software open source:

• To increase NASA software quality via community peer review.
• To accelerate software development via community contributions.
• To maximize the awareness and impact of NASA research.
• To increase dissemination of NASA software in support of NASA's education mission.