08/15/2024
Build-it-yourself rovers!
High school students, maker clubs, and garage tinkerers worldwide have built legions of powerful and customizable mini rovers thanks to the JPL-founded Open Source Rover project.
The project makes building scaled-down versions of the rovers exploring the surface of Mars more accessible and affordable to budding enthusiasts in mechanical engineering, software development, electronics, and robotics. It’s also — you guessed it — open source, a term that refers to computer software that is released publicly for anyone to use for collaboration and experimentation.
Tap the link in our bio to learn the five most interesting things about the project and the growing fleet of robots that have come online since it got started in 2017.
📸 Image Descriptions:
1. The graphic reads "Life at JPL; Explore the JPL-founded Open Source Rover Program" and the footer says "Read more on jpl.jobs/blog." The background image is of a JPL-built Open Source Rover example rolling over a pile of rocks.
2. JPL engineer Lan Dang snaps a selfie with a six-wheeled rover named Raf while on a tour of the Lab.
3. Raf sits in front of models of the Perseverance rover, its older cousin, and the Ingenuity Helicopter at JPL.