Lil Planty: The Autonomous Flag-Planting Rover

Lil Planty is Rowan University’s payload for the 2025 IREC competition in Midland, Texas. It is a rover designed to deploy post-landing and plant a small flag in the desert. The project was developed as part of the Experimental Sounding Rocket Association’s (ESRA) international competition at Spaceport America, and the corresponding SDL Payload Challenge.

This compact, Arduino-powered rover fits within a 10×10×30 cm payload bay and executes a fully self-contained mission upon touchdown—detecting landing, opening the payload bay door, driving out, and planting a small flag using a servo-powered arm.

Designed, programmed, and fabricated by James Lee, Lil Planty showcases integrated mechanical, electrical, and software systems within severe size and mass constraints.