Source: https://mokxi.com/teachers/plans/space-rover Updated: 2026-11-11 Lesson plan # Mars rover lesson plan Drive by counting wheel slots, see hazards, do the science, then send your rover on a full mission. 2 chapters, 4 lessons, about 4 hours, on the Arduino Uno R3. Every lesson runs in the browser, with nothing to install. Start a class from this course The unit ## Objectives and materials ### By the end, students can - Know how far you have gone, and stop before the rock. - Measure the ground, log it, and drive the whole route alone. ### Materials for the whole unit - Arduino Uno R3 - Full-size breadboard - Hobby servo - Motor driver module, L298N - OLED display, 128x64 - Photoresistor sensor module - Pushbutton - Robot car chassis, 2WD - Soil moisture sensor, capacitive - VL53L0X time-of-flight sensor Every part is already on the simulator’s bench, so there is nothing to buy or hand out. The counts are the most any one lesson uses, if you build it on real breadboards too. Chapter 1. About 1 h 50 min ## Mobility Know how far you have gone, and stop before the rock. Lesson | Time | What students do Drive by counting Turn wheel-encoder slots into millimeters: drive half a meter without looking, then make a quarter turn from the difference between the wheels. | 50 min - Meet your rover - Roll - Count your way there - A quarter turn See the hazard Range with a VL53L0X time-of-flight sensor, stop before a rock, turn the mast to look both ways and choose the clearer side. | 60 min - Wake the rangefinder - Read the range - Stop before the rock - Look both ways - Pick a side ### Materials - Arduino Uno R3 - Full-size breadboard - Hobby servo - Motor driver module, L298N - OLED display, 128x64 - Photoresistor sensor module - Pushbutton - Robot car chassis, 2WD - Soil moisture sensor, capacitive - VL53L0X time-of-flight sensor ### Check for understanding Each student finishes "See the hazard" on their own, without opening the hints. The simulator checks 5 of its 5 steps as they go. Then ask each one to explain, in a sentence or two, the last thing it asked of them: "Pick a side". Chapter 2. About 2 h 10 min ## Science and the mission Measure the ground, log it, and drive the whole route alone. Lesson | Time | What students do Do some science Calibrate a soil probe and a light sensor the right way up, show them on an OLED, and log numbered samples like a real instrument. | 60 min - Light up the log - Read the soil - Find wet ground - Into the shade - Log a sample The mission Put it all together: dead reckoning to three waypoints, hazard avoidance on the way, a sample at each stop, and a report home. | 70 min - Power up - Start the mission - First waypoint - A rock in the way - Take a sample - Report home ### Materials - Arduino Uno R3 - Full-size breadboard - Hobby servo - Motor driver module, L298N - OLED display, 128x64 - Photoresistor sensor module - Pushbutton - Robot car chassis, 2WD - Soil moisture sensor, capacitive - VL53L0X time-of-flight sensor ### Check for understanding Each student finishes "The mission" on their own, without opening the hints. The simulator checks 6 of its 6 steps as they go. Then ask each one to explain, in a sentence or two, the last thing it asked of them: "Report home". Your class ## Teach this unit as a class Start a class from this course and its 4 lessons are assigned in one go, in order. Students join with a six-character code or printed login cards, and each one’s work comes back to you. The class tools are free for 30 days for one class of up to 20 students, with no card. The lessons themselves are free either way. Start a class from this course See the demo class More units ## Other lesson plans Electronics basics 20 lessons, about 10 h. Embedded on the Arduino Uno 16 lessons, about 12 h. Embedded on the ESP32-C3 13 lessons, about 11 h. Embedded on the Raspberry Pi Pico 7 lessons, about 6 h. Build your own fight stick 5 lessons, about 4 h. Embedded on the STM32F411 6 lessons, about 6 h. C++ on a board 13 lessons, about 10 h. Digital logic and memory 4 lessons, about 4 h. Interactive devices on the Uno 9 lessons, about 8 h. From gates to a computer 23 lessons, about 16 h. Build a claw machine 8 lessons, about 6 h. Every unit All the courses as ready-made units, on the teachers page.