A university rover-payload concept for collecting soil in a removable cartridge, mixing samples, and recording soil and environmental measurements. The design uses an Arduino Mega 2560, a motor-driven tray, and separate dry-soil, pH, and reagent sections.
This is a terrestrial engineering prototype. Its measurements do not establish the presence of life or suitability for use on Mars.
Concept illustration of the proposed payload layout.
A fixed funnel distributes soil into four cartridge sections. A break-beam sensor or START button begins the sequence. The tray moves to its home sensor, mixes the samples, reads the available inputs, and locks further starts until reset.
| Function | Current status |
|---|---|
| Sample trigger, homing, and mixing | Implemented in the control sketch. |
| Moisture and pH inputs | Raw ADC readings only; calibration is pending. |
| Temperature, humidity, and RGB sensing | Planned; sensor-reading code is pending. |
| LCD status display | Planned; not implemented in the sketch. |
| Bluetooth output | Start message and raw readings sent through Serial1. |
| Wi-Fi and dashboard | Serial2 sends a result-ready marker; no network bridge or live dashboard connection is included. |
| Chemistry and habitability screening | Not configured; no concentration or screening score is calculated. |
| Material | Location |
|---|---|
| Arduino Mega control sketch | ScienceBoxMega.ino |
| Parts list | BOM.csv |
| Circuit schematic | Schematic image |
| PCB layout | PCB image |
| Board preview | 3D board view |
| System overview | Block diagram |
| Mechanical concept | Design image |
| Dashboard mock-up | HTML page · Preview image |
| Assembly and wiring notes | Build notes |
| Current control sequence | Test sequence |
| Measurement and interpretation notes | Chemistry and habitability |
Open dashboard/index.html locally in a browser to view the static mock-up. It contains placeholder values and does not receive sensor data.
The schematic and sketch use different assignments for some signals, including moisture, pH, trigger, and motor control. Check the firmware pin table before wiring. The folder contains reference images; editable PCB and mechanical CAD files are not included.