NASA posts ‘build your own Curiosity rover’ project on GitHub

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory has launched a GitHub project that will allow people to build their own scale model of the Curiosity rover. However, it is not a cheap hobby.

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab has put tools on GitHub that allow people to build their own Curiosity rover. This project bears the name JPL Open Source Rover Project and makes it possible to build a scale model with mainly relatively easy to obtain parts. That does not alter the fact that you still have to saw, drill and solder. Also applying electricity and dealing with Linux and Python are required.

The JPL chose a Raspberry Pi as the ‘brain’ of its model. For example, the rover can be controlled with a smartphone or an Xbox controller. Having a 3d printer or laser cutter is optional, but handy. The parts, which have already been compiled in a master parts list, have a combined price of about 2500 dollars, which makes it not a cheap project.

The construction roadmap and an example of a DIY robbery