The Plan for Code - An open.NASA

Today (Jan 4th 2012) NASA are launching code.nasa.gov, the latest member of the open NASA web family.

Through their website, they will continue, unify, and expand NASA’s open source activities.

The site is intended to serve to reveal existing projects, provide a forum for discussing projects and processes, and guide internal and external groups in open development, release, and contribution.

In their initial release, they are focusing on providing a home for the current state of open source at the Agency.

This includes guidance on how to engage the open source process, points of contact, and a directory of existing projects.

By elucidating the process, they hope to lower the barriers to building open technology in partnership with their public.

PHASE Two

Phase two will concentrate on providing a robust forum for ongoing discussion of open source concepts, policies, and projects at the Agency.

PHASE Three
In their third phase, they hope to turn to the tools and mechanisms development projects generally need to be successful, such as distributed version control, issue tracking, continuous integration, documentation, communication, and planning/management.

During this phase, they hope to create and host a tool, service, and process chain to further lower the burden to going open.

The GOAL

Ultimately, their goal is to create a highly visible community hub that will imbue open concepts into the formulation stages of new hardware and software projects, and help existing projects transition to open modes of development and operation.


They are going to need your help to get there! Please use the “Share your Ideas” icon (bottom right on their blog) to comment on their blog post, or email them at opengov@nasa.gov to let them know how code can help you, where you would like to see the site go, and how best they can fulfill their purpose.

NASA believes that tomorrow’s space and science systems will be built in the open, and that code.nasa.gov will play a big part in getting us there. Will your code someday escape our solar system or land on an alien planet? NASA's working to make it happen, and with your help, it will.

Visit the open.NASA at The Plan for Code - open.NASA