Robotic space missions have long depended on automation, defined in the 2015 NASA Technology Roadmaps as "the automatically-controlled operation of an apparatus, process, or system using a pre-planned set of instructions (e.g., a command sequence)," to react to events when a rapid response is required. Autonomy, defined there as "the capacity of a system to achieve goals while operating independently from external control," is required when a wide variation in circumstances precludes responses being pre-planned, instead autonomy follows an on-board deliberative process to determine the situation, decide the response, and manage its execution. Autonomy is increasingly called for to support adventurous space mission concepts, as an enabling capability or as a significant enhancer of the science value that those missions can return. But if autonomy is to be allowed to control these missions' expensive assets, all parties in the lifetime of a mission, from proposers through ground control, must have high confidence that autonomy will perform as intended to keep the asset safe to (if possible) accomplish the mission objectives. The role of mission assurance is a key contributor to providing this confidence, yet assurance practices honed over decades of spaceflight have relatively little experience with autonomy. To remedy this situation, researchers in JPL's software assurance group have been involved in the development of techniques specific to the assurance of autonomy. This paper summarizes over two decades of this research, and offers a vision of where further work is needed to address open issues.

翻译：长期以来，机器人航天任务依赖“自动化”——根据2015年NASA技术路线图，这一定义为“利用预设指令集（如指令序列）对设备、过程或系统执行自动控制的操作”——以在需要快速响应时应对事件。而“自主性”在该路线图中被定义为“系统在独立于外部控制的情况下实现目标的能力”，当环境变化范围之大导致无法预先规划响应时，系统需通过机载推理过程判断态势、决策响应并管理执行。自主性正日益被要求支持具有开创性的航天任务概念，既可作为赋能能力，也可显著提升这些任务所能产生的科学价值。然而，若允许自主系统控制这些昂贵资产，则任务全生命周期中的所有相关方（从提案者到地面控制人员）必须高度确信自主系统能按预期运行，以保障资产安全并（尽可能）达成任务目标。任务保障在提供这种信心方面发挥着关键作用，但经过数十年航天飞行锤炼的保障实践在自主性领域经验相对匮乏。为改变这一现状，喷气推进实验室软件保障小组的研究人员长期致力于开发针对自主性保障的专用技术。本文总结了二十余年的研究成果，并提出需进一步解决相关开放问题的远景展望。