Space ROS Improvements for Space Flight

NASA's Moon-to-Mars objectives necessitate robust autonomous robotic systems capable of performing critical tasks in extreme space environments. However, the lack of a fully mature, spaceflight-verified robotics software framework has hindered the adoption of terrestrial autonomy technologies in space missions. This proposal addresses this gap by enhancing Space ROS, a flight-ready version of the widely used Robot Operating System (ROS), to meet the stringent requirements of spaceflight verification, validation, and performance optimization. PickNik Robotics proposes targeted improvements to Space ROS, focusing on three key areas: (1) reducing static analysis warnings by 50-60% to improve software trustworthiness, (2) optimizing binary sizes by 50% to enable deployment on space-rated hardware, and (3) integrating the IKOS formal verification tool to detect critical runtime errors pre-deployment. These enhancements will streamline Space ROS for real-time operation in resource-constrained environments, facilitating its adoption in NASA's lunar surface infrastructure, In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) systems, and autonomous robotic missions. The Phase I will support the development of systematic code quality improvements, automated dependency management tools, and continuous integration enhancements, ensuring that Space ROS becomes viable for future spaceflight applications. By contributing these advancements to the open-source community, this effort will not only accelerate NASA’s robotics initiatives but also drive broader commercial adoption of Space ROS for safety-critical applications in space, defense, and industrial automation markets.