"NASA's Curiosity Rover Receives Software Upgrade for Improved Performance on Mars"
NASA has successfully installed a major software update to its Curiosity Mars rover, which includes 180 changes, some of which are small, such as making slight corrections to the messages Curiosity transmits to Earth, while others are major, such as simplifying code that had become bloated over 11 years of piecemeal patches while exploring Mars' Mount Sharp region. The update also includes improvements to the rover's movement and steering code, and how it processes images of its terrain to better plan routes around obstacles, allowing it to consume less energy while trundling around, and reducing wear and tear on the treads.