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NASA PUBLISHED THE PLANS FOR ITS MARS ROVER SO YOU CAN BUILD ONE

NASA published the plans for a scaled-down version of its six-wheel Mars rover, and it is built entirely from consumer hardware.

by NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory

FULL CAD BOM FIRMWARE DOCS

RoboticsOpen-hardware

Built withRaspberry Pi

difficulty
●●●●○
time
a month of evenings
license
Apache-2.0
repo
repo ACTIVE9,680 stars

WHAT YOU’LL NEED

Videos
1
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COMPAREE VERDICT

This is a serious robotics platform, not a weekend kit. The rocker-bogie suspension is the real draw: it keeps all six wheels on the ground while climbing obstacles, with no springs, and a differential pivot shares the load between the two sides. The corner wheels steer, using six-wheel Ackermann steering. The repository is thorough: CAD, parts list, wiring, software, and a gallery of community builds. The trap is the scale: ten motors, aluminium structure, and a project estimate of about 1,600 dollars. The project itself says the build takes no less than 100 person-hours. The README says no prior skills are required, but its own skills section asks for some experience with assembly, electronics and Linux, ROS, Git and Python. If you want to learn robotics and can justify the cost, this is a real research platform. If you want a rover for the garden in a weekend, the project itself points to cheaper alternatives.

GOOD TO KNOW

  • —Apache 2.0 licence, commercial use allowed.
  • —Full CAD, parts list, wiring diagrams, and software are in the repository.
  • —Every part is consumer off-the-shelf, mostly goBILDA hardware; no metal machining should be needed for the base rover, though optional expansions may need cutting and drilling.
  • —The repository says no prior skills are required, but the build is large and the assembly is not trivial.
  • —The electronics are designed with expansions in mind: a head display and a robot arm are documented.
  • —Total build cost is around 1,600 dollars, excluding tools and shipping — the project itself compares this to the price of a TurtleBot 3 Waffle.

Parts to buy

2 items

From our check of the build. Exact quantities and part numbers are in the creator’s BOM.

  • Mostly GoBilda hardware (motors, gears, structure)Find
  • Electronicsfrom the repo files

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Can I build this?

PrintNothing required — every part is consumer off-the-shelf.
BuyMostly GoBilda hardware (motors, gears, structure), plus electronics (Raspberry Pi or similar, motor controllers, battery). Full parts list in the repository.
ToolsHex keys, screwdrivers, wire strippers, soldering iron. Basic mechanical assembly tools.
SkillsBasic electronics, mechanical assembly, comfort with a command line. The repository says no prior skills are required, but the build is large and debugging a ten-motor system is not trivial.
TimeA month of evenings. The mechanical assembly alone is a weekend-plus; electronics and software add another week or two.
CostAbout 1,600 dollars by the project's headline estimate; the parts list itemises about 1,420 dollars of core parts (excluding shipping) plus around 500 dollars of other items if you do not already have them. Mostly goBILDA motors and structure.
SafetyLithium batteries (fire and puncture risk), moving parts (pinch points on gears and linkages). None beyond ordinary robotics care if you follow basic battery and mechanical safety.

Build at your own risk. Projects involve tools, electronics and sometimes mains voltage — follow the creator’s safety notes.

Videos

NASA-JPL Open-Source Rover (OSR) v2 going for a ride

The video linked from the README shows an earlier version (OSR v2) driving over rough ground. It is a demo, not an assembly walkthrough; the build is documented in the repository.

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Gallery

Start here

Navigation into the creator’s own docs — we don’t rewrite the guide, we route you to the source.

  1. 1.Read the README and the mechanical assembly guide in the repository. (The repository is thorough. Start with the overview, then move to the parts list.)
  2. 2.Order the parts. The project uses mostly GoBilda hardware, and the parts list is detailed.(Check lead times — some GoBilda parts can take weeks to ship.)
  3. 3.Assemble the mechanical structure first, before wiring anything.(The rocker-bogie linkage is the hardest part. Take your time and follow the CAD.)

Resources

Documentation, files and community threads for this build — we link straight to the original sources and never rehost the creator’s files.

KNOWN ISSUES

  • The roughly 1,600-dollar headline figure needs reading carefully: the parts list puts the core parts at about 1,420 dollars excluding shipping, and says to add around 500 dollars more if you do not already have the remaining items it lists. GoBilda may change prices without notice.
  • Order parts first: the roadmap says to start ordering as soon as possible, and international buyers should check goBILDA's shipping options.
  • The repository says no prior skills are required, which is optimistic. You need basic electronics, mechanical assembly, and comfort with a command line.
  • The rocker-bogie suspension is clever, but it is also the part most likely to bind or misalign during assembly. Follow the CAD exactly.
  • The electronics are designed for expansion, but that means more wiring and more debugging. If you skip the head display and robot arm, you still have ten motors to wire and test.
  • The rover is large. Make sure you have space to build it and somewhere to drive it — it is not a desktop project.

Is this the actual Mars rover?

No. It is a scaled-down version of the six-wheel rover design that JPL uses on Mars, built entirely from consumer parts. The suspension design is the same, but the rover itself is smaller and slower.

Do I need to machine anything?

No. Every part is consumer off-the-shelf, mostly GoBilda hardware. The project was designed to avoid machining.

Can I build this with no prior experience?

The repository says no prior skills are required, but that is optimistic. You need basic electronics, mechanical assembly, and comfort with a command line. If you have built a robot before, you will be fine. If this is your first project, expect to spend time learning.

What is the rocker-bogie suspension?

It is the linkage that keeps all six wheels on the ground while the rover climbs over obstacles. There are no springs — the linkage itself distributes the load so the body stays level while individual wheels ride up and over rocks.

Can I use this for research?

Yes. The electronics are designed with expansions in mind (head display, robot arm), and the rover is a real research platform for rugged terrain. Apache 2.0 licence allows commercial use.

Community builds

No community builds yet — be the first, we feature the best ones.

Discussion1

FROM THE COMPAREE TEAM

The repository puts the total build cost at around 1,600 dollars, about the price of a TurtleBot 3 Waffle. What would you use a rover like this for that justifies the cost?

CompareeTEAM2mo agoedited

Practical notes from our verification: the repository has close to 9,700 stars and over 1,500 forks, is actively maintained by NASA JPL, and links a gallery of community builds. The parts list is detailed and every part is consumer off-the-shelf, mostly goBILDA hardware, with no metal machining needed for the base version. The rocker-bogie suspension is the real engineering: a linkage that keeps all six wheels on the ground while climbing obstacles. The README says no prior skills are required, but it also says the build takes no less than 100 person-hours — this is a month of evenings, not a weekend. The listed cost of around 1,600 dollars does not include shipping or tools. The project itself points to cheaper open-source alternatives for people who want them, noting they are slower, weaker, and more fragile. Correction (4 October 2026): we re-checked this page line by line against the project's own repository, documentation and videos, and fixed errors in earlier versions.

NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory

JPL builds the rovers that explore the surface of Mars. This project exists to get people into mechanical engineering, electronics, software, and robotics by publishing a scaled-down version of the same six-wheel design. It has been going since 2017 and is actively maintained.

GitHub

Star the project on GitHub

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