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Possibly cool idea: build a Curiosity emulator/simulator. Build the o.s. for it and/or user-space (does any of those concepts apply? probably not) software for it.

Does this already exist? This looks like it. http://sourceforge.net/projects/marsroversim/

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Curiosity definitely has an OS (VxWorks). But I asked one of the developers about releasing some code after Curiosity landed and was told that they couldn't. So I doubt an accurate Curiosity emulator will ever be possible unless JPL releases their code 45 years from now like NASA did with Apollo 11's guidance system. (https://code.google.com/p/virtualagc/)

They usually have terrestrial duplicates where tests occur and bug troubleshooting is done

I believe that the software technically falls under certain US export restrictions which is probably one reason it isn't made public.

US export restrictions? Can't export it much further than Mars. ;-)

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