Failure of the Schiaparelli lander: A software problem?

[Peter Chapin <spicacality@gmail.com>]

While not specifically Ada related, this is a topic that might be of interest to many in this group. As you may know the Schiaparelli Mars lander recently crashed to the surface of Mars instead of landing softly as intended. The article here provides some details:

http://www.skyandtelescope.com/astronomy-blogs/schiaparelli-requiem-for-a-mars-lander/

According to the article the spacecraft jettisoned its heat shield and parachute early and then, even worse, turned off the descent engines while the spacecraft was still over a mile from the ground. The article says,

"... a computer glitch seems to have confused the lander, as miscommunication between its onboard navigational system and radar erroneously told Schiaparelli it was near the surface."

I'm not sure what "computer glitch" means, exactly, but this sounds like a software failure of some kind. Does anyone here have access to more information about this? Was this a software failure? If so, what was the nature of the failure, and was it something the use of Ada (or SPARK) might have avoided?

I realize the ESA is still analyzing the telemetry from the lander so perhaps more details will come to light in time.

Peter