Photo: JPL
There is no other human endeavor currently capturing the imagination of millions more than the new space race, set in motion for the first time in history by private companies rather than government agencies.
The world is ablaze with talk of colonies on the Moon or Mars, there are competitions meant to land private machines on both celestial bodies, and there’s talk of even bolder projects.
All this space fever is likely to make an entire generation of people want to leave their mark on the decades that might shape our fate as a species.
Currently studying in schools across the globe, students are being asked by both private and government entities to chip in ideas and projects which might help take humans to the stars faster.
The latest such think tank project comes from JPL, which announced on Tuesday the Open Source Rover Project, a program meant to teach the next generation of engineers how to build a rover model for planetary exploration.
To capture the hearts and minds of the students, JPL is currently touring classrooms, museums and school events across the U.S. showing off the ROV-E, a machine constructed in the same manner as the Curiosity currently roaming the planes of Mars.
The ROV-E has been built mostly with parts available off-the-shelf, while others have been 3D-printed. It is equipped with easily programmable Arduino and Raspberri pi computers that allow it to learn while interacting with humans.
Using an on-board audio speaker and an internet connection, ROV-E can answer questions about the Red Planet and take vocal commands.
Based on the ROV-E, JPL set-up a website where those interested can find the plans to assemble their own versions of the rover for as little as $2,500. JPL plans to use the website as a tool to improve the rover and asks all those taking part to share their ideas with the rest of the world.
All this space fever is likely to make an entire generation of people want to leave their mark on the decades that might shape our fate as a species.
Currently studying in schools across the globe, students are being asked by both private and government entities to chip in ideas and projects which might help take humans to the stars faster.
The latest such think tank project comes from JPL, which announced on Tuesday the Open Source Rover Project, a program meant to teach the next generation of engineers how to build a rover model for planetary exploration.
To capture the hearts and minds of the students, JPL is currently touring classrooms, museums and school events across the U.S. showing off the ROV-E, a machine constructed in the same manner as the Curiosity currently roaming the planes of Mars.
The ROV-E has been built mostly with parts available off-the-shelf, while others have been 3D-printed. It is equipped with easily programmable Arduino and Raspberri pi computers that allow it to learn while interacting with humans.
Using an on-board audio speaker and an internet connection, ROV-E can answer questions about the Red Planet and take vocal commands.
Based on the ROV-E, JPL set-up a website where those interested can find the plans to assemble their own versions of the rover for as little as $2,500. JPL plans to use the website as a tool to improve the rover and asks all those taking part to share their ideas with the rest of the world.
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