Red Rover Goes To Mars
The Red Rover Project is a joint initiative between the Planetary Society and the LEGO® Company, aimed at students and home users alike, it is designed to give everyone the experience of exploring an unknown world through the eyes of a robotic Rover. The project recreates many of the functional and operational conditions which face Exploration Rovers (and their designers, engineers, and operators) when exploring another planet.

Through the use of LEGO® Mindstorms components, Technic bricks and accessories, (even a LEGO® Studio Camera), your goal is to build a Rover which meets specific mission and operational objectives. These can be as simple as navigating around an obstacle, to fulfilling a complex set of related tasks. Your operational terrain is a simulated Mars environment, complete with site specific geographic features, Your aim is to explore and discover as much as you can about this alien environment.

Marie Curie
Marie Curie Class Rovers are small, tethered rovers that carry a camera (either LEGO® Vision Command or LEGO® Studios Camera or Logitech QuickCam) and have no other sensors. They do not carry the RCX; the RCX that controls the Rover sits next to the computer, and the Rover is tethered to the computer using long wires. (Why? This allows the RCX to receive power from a power supply instead of eating batteries, and the camera tethers the rover to the computer anyway.)

Rocky
Rocky Class Rovers are similar to Marie Curie class rovers: They are small, tethered rovers that carry a camera but not the RCX. They are different from Marie Curie rovers in that they also carry an extra motorized device (for example, a robotic arm, moveable camera mount, collision sensor, or a Core Drill) that can be operated through programs stored on the RCX.

Athena
Athena Class Rovers are completely wireless rovers, carrying a wireless (X10 or other) camera and the RCX. The Infrared transmitting tower (connected to the computer) is mounted over the operating environment, so the rover is not tethered to the computer. Like the Rocky class of rovers, Athena class rovers may also, but are not required to, carry an additional motorized device.

Operating environment
The Red Rover project calls for a simulated Martian environment in which your LEGO® Rover explores. Typically these environments (dioramas) represent a specific geographic location of Mars, but for those of you reading this at home, a few well placed magazines, rumpled hallway rug, and the odd shoe also make for a challenging exploration environment.

The Red Rover project is aimed a schools and educational institutions around the world, and as such, many operational dioramas have been constructed. Each of these ‘Mars Stations’ consists of a diorama representing an area of Mars, a LEGO® Rover (equipped with a Web camera), and special control software, which allows you to log on and remotely drive and control the Rover over the internet. At some Mars Stations, you will be offered challenges: discovering certain rocks, retrieving valuable samples, or safely traversing a rock-strewn plain– Pretty cool. Visit the on-line Mars Stations here.

The Red Rover Project is an exciting way to learn about the unique challenges in designing and operating Exploration Rovers. The Mars Stations allow you to explore a simulated Mars world remotely, running the Rover around to see what’s just beyond the field of view, or what’s behind that rock. What is most evident though is that controlling the Rover remotely, over the internet, (or through space for that matter), is not as easy as driving a remote controlled car that you can see.

The Planetary Society is actively involved with ongoing support for the Mars Exploration Program with initiatives such as the Astrobot Diaries, and the Student Astronauts, programs. The Society is a nonprofit, nongovernmental organization, funded by dues and donations from individuals around the world. Learn more about the Planetary Society here.