NASA Promotes Open Source with New Website

NASA has added a new website and public forum to a growing list of efforts dedicated to the agency's open-source strategy. Through code.nasa.gov, the agency plans to "continue, unify and expand" its open-source activities by posting information about and providing an online hub for its open-source activities, according to a blog post by William Eshagh of NASA's Ames Research Center.

The site also will engage the public as a guideline for internal and external groups that want to work with NASA in open development and possibly contribute to projects, he said. NASA anticipates rolling out the site in three phases, Eshagh said. The first phase will provide "a home for the current state of open source" at NASA, including points of contact and a directory of existing projects, he said.

"By elucidating the process, we hope to lower the barriers to building open technology in partnership with the public," Eshagh said. A second phase of the site will provide a discussion forum for NASA's open-source concepts, policies, and projects, creating more of a community atmosphere. In phase three the agency will take a didactic approach, according to Eshagh...