Rovers

Rovers are one of several constructable types of spacecraft. They move across a celestial body's surface to search for something special on the surface (for example: rocks with signs of life on them). They're used as payloads and visual proofs of landing on a planet, but they provide any achievements over using a simple lander when ending its mission. Rovers can also be recoverable (with a docking port) to allow rockets to pick them up and relaunch (as seen here), but their most practical use is as mobile fuel storages, to refuel rockets and move across land without consuming fuel.

How to build rovers?[]

A rover consists of a control module (usually a Probe to end the mission without returning to Earth), some wheels (usually a two or of them) and usually other utility parts (to represent instruments).

To launch a rover on a rocket, it is advised to encase the rover in a Fairing to reduce air resistance with a heat shield on the bottom. If a rover is stored separately from the rocket, an additional Probe should be attached at the top stage of the rocket to control it, or the rover can be attached to the rocket using a Separator or Docking Port (which can be connected to a non-docking port surface on a rocket that will be discarded on atmospheric entry at the destination). If the rover is meant to carry fuel, the rocket's final stage can be used to refill it before decoupling, if necessary. See Rocket Construction on how to build rockets.

Rovers delivering fuel to ground stations or rockets relaunching from their planet need a Docking Port at the same height from ground level as the one on the vehicles it connects to. This can be the same one used to connect to the rocket initially carrying the rover.

Rovers may also have parachutes to use in landing for saving budget on fuel. Parachutes above the rover's center of mass will ensure it lands upright, but after landing, lower depleted parachute-holders will lower the center of mass, preventing tipping. They can also look like lights, which look better than a bare-bones rover.

How to land rovers?[]

To land a rover on another planet, you need to follow the steps on how to land a rover on a planet with or without atmosphere. Further details are found here.

With atmosphere[]

The rover must be in a protective casing, like a fairing with a separator for the rover/rover carrier, parachutes to slow down the descent, a heat shield to protect the rover from burning, and some fuel for operating retrorockets.

If the rover is not carrying a rover carrier, the shell will be separated before it lands on the planet, and burn up.

-Example Video Here

Without atmosphere[]

The rover must be on top or inside by a lander or landing platform. Once your lander or landing platform is safely on the ground, deploy the rover via a docking port or separator. Once separated from the lander, drive by its landing legs (they should be placed horizontally); you need to quick save if it falls over its top. If not an option, add RCS and make sure it has a fuel tank.

-Example Video Here

Methods to Land Rovers[]

There are many ways to land a rover, regardless of atmosphere or not.

Lander/Landing Platform[]

One can put a rover on a lander, or on a landing stage with landing legs. This lander will have to be encased in a fairing/aeroshell if one decides to land it on a body with an atmosphere.

Skycrane[]

This method uses a stage, attached to the rover to softly land it. The skycrane can be released and can crash on the surface. Again, if one decides to use this method, it will have to be encased in a fairing/aeroshell if one decides to land it on a body with an atmosphere.

Lithorake[]

Lithobraking, is where a part of the rocket is broken to slow the vehicle. This can be used to land rovers as well. By using wheels (which are very resistant) one can "crash land" a rover on the surface. Once the rover has slowed down and landed, the wheels can be shed and thus expended.

Propulsive[]

Similar to the lander and skycrane methods, engines can be used slow the rover to a safe velocity. The engines can be jettisoned, or kept on the rover is desired.

How to drive rovers?[]

The wheels need to be activated to start moving across the terrain. Click on the wheels: the message "Rover wheel On" will appear. Then, use the left and right directional arrows to rotate the wheels anticlockwise and clockwise, moving the rover. When RCS Thrusters are enabled, four additional buttons are given, but wheels use the left and right arrows or Q and E keys.

How to prevent rovers from tipping?[]

In case a rover tips over, it's useful to have a Landing Leg attached to the top, angled horizontally, to flip the rover back upright. Two can be used in wider and/or heavier rovers (with their feet in the centre to better rotate). Solar Panels on the top can be extended, to rotate and fall onto the side, from which rotating upright is easier, but they shouldn't be retracted while underneath the rover on planets with high gravity, as they repeatedly hit the ground during retraction, and can be broken.

If the rover's torque is too high for its width:height ratio, it will flip over. This can be solved by driving slowly (unpressing the move button when going too fast or pressing the other button to act as like brakes in a car), enabling only the front wheel (so the flipping stops as it begins to lift off, and gravity and the control vehicle's torque pull it back down), making the centre of mass lower (by moving heavy components down, possibly displacing lighter ones), or even surrounding the internal components in a convex hull of wheels to ensure none can be damaged in flipping, and it can't be immobilized, but it won't be able to dock to other craft unless either its docking port is exposed and made vulnerable or the other craft's port protrudes.

History[]

Rovers used to require electricity to drive, but electricity was temporarily removed in 1.5 for a future "full rework".

Real-Life Rovers[]

NOTE: This list does not include crewed rovers e.g. the Lunar Roving Vehicle used in the Apollo missions

Operational
Inactive (mission de jure operational)
Successful
Partially successful
Failed

Rover	Mission	Country	Destination	Launched	Active	Remarks
Lunokhod 8YeL No.201	Luna E-8 No.201	USSR	Moon	19 February 1969	―	Launch vehicle failed 51 seconds after liftoff
Lunokhod 1	Luna 17	USSR	Moon	10 November 1970	1970-1971	First successful space rover
PrOP-M	Mars 2	USSR	Mars	19 May 1971	―	Lander malfunctioned and crashed precluding operations
PrOP-M	Mars 3	USSR	Mars	28 May 1971	―	Lander lost communications shortly after landing precluding operations
Lunokhod 2	Luna 21	USSR	Moon	11 January 1973	1973	Remains the rover to have travelled the farthest in the Moon
PrOP-F	Phobos 2	USSR	Phobos	12 July 1988	―	Bus lost contact before lander deployment precluding operations
Sojourner	Mars Pathfinder	USA	Mars	4 December 1996	1997	First successful rover mission on another planet, operated for 83 sols
Spirit	Mars Exploration Rover-A	USA	Mars	10 June 2003	2004-2010	Operated for 2208 sols
Opportunity	Mars Exploration Rover-B	USA	Mars	8 July 2003	2004-2018	Operated for 5352 sols, the longest out of any Mars rover as of September 2025
Curiosity	Mars Science Laboratory	USA	Mars	26 November 2011	2012-present	Investigating the habitability, environment and history of Mars
Yutu	Chang'e 3	China	Moon	1 December 2013	2013-2016	First lunar rover mission in 40 years and first in the far side of the Moon
MASCOT	Hayabusa2	France Germany	162173 Ryugu	3 December 2014	2018	First successful rover mission on an asteroid
Yutu-2	Chang'e 4	China	Moon	7 December 2018	2019-present	Longest fully-functioning lunar rover
Pragyan	Chandrayaan-2	India	Moon	22 July 2019	―	Lander crashed due to software bug precluding operations
MINERVA-II Rover-1A	Hayabusa2	Japan	162173 Ryugu	3 December 2014	2019	Hopper rover
MINERVA-II Rover-1B	Hayabusa2	Japan	162173 Ryugu	3 December 2014	2019	Hopper rover
MINERVA-II Rover-2	Hayabusa2	Japan	162173 Ryugu	3 December 2014	2019	Due to issues it was released in orbit around the asteroid and completed its mission there
Perseverance	Mars 2020	USA	Mars	30 July 2020	2021-present	Deployed Ingenuity, the first heavier-than-air aircraft to fly on another planet
Zhurong	Tianwen-1	China	Mars	23 July 2020	2021-2022	Inactive since May 2022
Rashid	Hakuto-R Mission 1	UAE	Moon	11 December 2022	―	Lander crashed due to computer glitch precluding operations
Sora-Q	Hakuto-R Mission 1	Japan	Moon	11 December 2022	―	Lander crashed due to computer glitch precluding operations
Pragyan	Chandrayaan-3	India	Moon	14 July 2023	2023	First successful lunar rover near the Moon's south pole, inactive since September 2023
LEV-1	SLIM	Japan	Moon	6 September 2023	2024	Hopper-type rover which operated for 107 minutes
LEV-2	SLIM	Japan	Moon	6 September 2023	2024	Sora-Q, small rover which crawls over the lunar surface using its two wheels
Colmena × 5	Peregrine Mission One	Mexico	Moon	8 January 2024	―	Never left LEO due to a propellant leak
Iris	Peregrine Mission One	USA	Moon	8 January 2024	―	Never left LEO due to a propellant leak
Jinchan	Chang'e 6	China	Moon	3 May 2024	2024	Operated for four days conducting infrared spectroscopy and imaging the Chang'e 6 lander
Yaoki	IM-2	Japan	Moon	27 February 2025	―	Lander tipped over precluding rover deployments
MAPP LV1	IM-2	USA	Moon	27 February 2025	―	Lander tipped over precluding rover deployments
Micro-Nova	IM-2	USA	Moon	27 February 2025	―	Lander tipped over precluding rover deployments
Astro-Ant	IM-2	USA	Moon	27 February 2025	―	Lander tipped over precluding rover deployments
TENACIOUS	Hakuto-R Mission 2	Japan Luxembourg	Moon	15 January 2025	―	Lander crashed due to LRF failure precluding operations

Gallery[]

Trivia[]

Not all rovers run on wheels. (e.g. the PrOP-M rover which was intended to run on flat skis)