Raspberry Pi hobbyist projects

- helmikuuta 12, 2026

1) Retro Gaming Console

Turn your Pi into a full nostalgia machine using RetroPie.

Why it’s awesome:

Emulate NES, SNES, Sega, PS1, etc.
Build it into a mini arcade cabinet (extra cool points)
Great beginner-friendly project

Bonus move: 3D print a custom case.

2) Smart Home Hub

Run Home Assistant on your Pi and control:

Smart lights
Temperature
Cameras
Automations (like “movie mode” lighting)

You basically become the wizard of your house.

3) DIY Home Media Server

Install Plex or Jellyfin and stream your media anywhere.

Perfect if you:

Have tons of movies
Want your own private Netflix
Like tinkering with storage setups

Pair it with an external SSD and you’re golden.

4) AI-Powered Security Camera

With a Pi Camera + motion detection:

Get phone alerts
Record only when needed
Even add face recognition

Low cost, surprisingly powerful.

5) Personal Weather Station

Attach temperature, humidity, and pressure sensors.

Upload data online or create your own dashboard.
Very “I run my own meteorology lab” vibes.

6) Pi-Hole (Network-Wide Ad Blocker)

Install Pi-hole and block ads across your entire WiFi network.

Blocks trackers
Speeds up browsing
Feels slightly illegal (it’s not 😌)

One of the most satisfying 1-hour projects ever.

7) Raspberry Pi Robot

Build:

Line-following robot
Obstacle-avoiding rover
WiFi-controlled bot

Add a camera and suddenly you have a mini Mars rover.

8) Magic Mirror

A mirror that shows:

Weather
Calendar
News
Time

It looks straight out of a sci-fi movie.

9) Cybersecurity Lab

Use your Pi to:

Learn ethical hacking
Run a Kali Linux lab
Practice network monitoring

Tiny device, hacker academy energy.

10) Custom Synthesizer / Music Machine

Install audio software and:

Build a MIDI controller
Make a modular synth
Create a beat machine

Great crossover of tech + art.

Raspberry Pi Linux Distros (Forks & Flavors)

🍓 1) Raspberry Pi OS (formerly Raspbian)

The official one. Debian-based. Stable. Beginner-friendly.

Why it’s powerful:

Comes with Python + Thonny IDE preinstalled
GPIO libraries ready out of the box
Minecraft Pi edition included
Scratch preinstalled
Great for learning Linux basics

If you’re starting from scratch → this is home base.

2) Fedora for Raspberry Pi

More “modern Linux workstation” energy.

Why use it:

Closer to enterprise Linux
Great for learning system administration
SELinux exposure
Fedora IoT edition for embedded systems

If you want Red Hat-style Linux experience → this is strong.

3) Kali Linux (ARM)

Security & penetration testing distro.

Why people love it:

Preinstalled hacking tools
Network scanning
Wireless auditing
Digital forensics tools

This turns your Pi into a portable cybersecurity lab.

4) Ubuntu Server / Ubuntu Desktop (ARM)

Cleaner mainstream Linux experience
Great for Docker, cloud projects
Good stepping stone toward DevOps / server work

5) Arch Linux ARM

Minimal. You build EVERYTHING.

If you want to truly understand:

Package managers
Boot process
System services
Manual configuration

Arch forces you to learn.

Educational Apps & Programming on Raspberry Pi

Here’s where it gets juicy.

Python Ecosystem (Default King)

Preinstalled on Raspberry Pi OS
GPIO control with gpiozero and RPi.GPIO
AI with TensorFlow Lite
Robotics control
Web apps with Flask/FastAPI

Python is basically the native language of Raspberry Pi.

Mathematica / Wolfram

Raspberry Pi OS used to ship with Wolfram Mathematica integration.

You can:

Do symbolic math
Graph functions
Simulate systems
Teach advanced math concepts

Very strong for STEM education.

Scratch

Drag-and-drop programming.

Good for:

Teaching logic
Kids coding robotics
Rapid prototyping simple ideas

C / C++ (Real Embedded Power)

If you want “true embedded systems energy”:

Direct GPIO access
Memory-level control
Real-time projects
Performance-critical apps

Pair this with:

Bare-metal programming
Cross-compiling
Kernel module tinkering

Now you’re in engineer territory.

Start From Scratch Linux & Embedded Systems Path

If your goal is:
“I want to understand Linux at a deep level.”

Here’s the clean path:

Install minimal OS (Arch or Ubuntu Server)
Learn:
- File system structure (/etc, /proc, /sys)
- systemd services
- SSH
- Users & permissions
Compile a custom kernel
Build a custom Linux image with Buildroot or Yocto
Try bare-metal programming (no OS)

That’s how embedded engineers are forged.

Game Coding on Raspberry Pi

Minecraft Pi Edition

This is underrated.

You can:

Control the game world with Python
Spawn blocks automatically
Build structures via scripts
Teach coding visually

Example idea:

Write Python that builds a castle automatically
Make TNT spawn when you press a GPIO button

It’s playful but secretly teaches real programming.

Other Game Dev Options

Pygame (2D games in Python)
Godot (lightweight ARM builds possible)
Retro game engines
Emulators + homebrew development

You can literally:

Code your own 2D platformer
Run it on your Pi
Plug it into a TV
Use GPIO buttons as controllers

That’s peak DIY.

Raspberry Pi Pico as a Modchip (Modern Scene)

Nintendo Switch (RP2040-based mods)

The Raspberry Pi Pico (RP2040) became popular in hardware modding communities because:

It’s cheap
It’s tiny
It can inject payloads at boot
Fully programmable via MicroPython or C

It’s often used in:

Switch boot-level modifications
Custom firmware triggering
Research & hardware experimentation

⚠️ Important reality check:
Installing these involves microsoldering and can permanently brick a console. Also, modifying consoles can violate terms of service or local laws depending on what you’re doing with it.

Older Consoles + Raspberry Pi

Xbox 360 / PS3-style experiments

In older generations, Pi boards were sometimes used to:

Interface with NAND chips
Read/write firmware
Act as glitch timing controllers
Hardware-level debugging

These are more hardware research / reverse engineering style projects.

What Is PicoBoot?

Nintendo GameCube + Raspberry Pi Pico

PicoBoot is a hardware mod that uses a Raspberry Pi Pico (RP2040 chip) to interact with the GameCube’s boot process.

Instead of replacing chips, it:

Sits inside the console
Connects to specific motherboard points
Interacts during boot
Allows loading custom software from SD (via compatible setup)

What It’s Doing (High-Level)

Without getting into anything sketchy:

At boot, the GameCube verifies what it’s loading.
PicoBoot interacts with that early boot stage so the console can load user-provided software.

From an engineering standpoint, it’s fascinating because it touches on:

Embedded boot chains
Hardware signal timing
Firmware-level interaction
Reverse engineering

It’s less “software hack” and more “hardware co-processor trick.”

Skill Level Required

Be honest with yourself here

You’ll need:

Fine-tip soldering iron
Flux (non-negotiable)
Very thin wire (30AWG kynar)
Magnification
Steady hands
Comfort opening consoles

The solder points on the GameCube motherboard are small.
It’s absolutely possible — but not beginner soldering.

Real Talk

You can permanently brick the console.
Incorrect wiring = no boot.
Overheating pads = lifted traces (very sad).
Legality depends on what you run afterward.

The hardware mod itself is about enabling flexibility — what you do with it matters.

What’s Actually Happening Technically?

A Raspberry-based modchip usually:

Interfaces with the console’s CPU boot process
Injects code before OS verification
Glitches timing (voltage/clock manipulation)
Loads alternate firmware

This is embedded systems + hardware timing attack territory. Very advanced.

If You’re Interested for Educational Reasons

Here’s the safer, engineer-approved path:

Instead of bypassing commercial protections, you can:

Build Your Own “Modchip-Style” Project

Use a Pi Pico to:

Intercept SPI communication
Create a custom bootloader for a microcontroller
Simulate a glitch attack in a lab setup
Design a secure boot system and try breaking it yourself

That teaches the same engineering concepts without legal gray areas.

Why RP2040 Became Popular

The RP2040 chip is powerful because:

Dual-core ARM Cortex-M0+
Programmable I/O (PIO state machines)
Precise timing control
Cheap and widely available

That makes it perfect for:

Hardware protocol manipulation
USB device emulation
Signal injection experiments

What Is a Raspberry Pi Cluster?

A cluster = multiple Raspberry Pis connected together to act like one distributed system.

You use it for:

Learning distributed computing
Kubernetes / Docker labs
Parallel processing
Self-hosted services
“Because I can” energy

Physical Setup

🔹 Classic Pi Stack Cluster

Typical components:

3–8 Raspberry Pi 4s (4GB or 8GB preferred)
Gigabit Ethernet switch
Short Ethernet cables
Cluster case or stack mounts
Shared power solution
Optional cooling fans

It literally looks like a baby server rack.

What Can You Run On It?

1) Docker Swarm

Container orchestration
Easy to set up
Great intro to distributed services

2) Kubernetes (k3s or microk8s)

Real cloud-native architecture
Pods, services, deployments
Load balancing
Scaling containers

This is how you simulate AWS in your bedroom.

3) Distributed Storage (GlusterFS / Ceph-lite style setups)

Turn multiple SD cards / SSDs into:

Shared network storage
Fault-tolerant file system
NAS cluster

Very DevOps-core.

4) Self-Hosted Cloud

Run:

Nextcloud
Git server
Media server
Web servers
Databases

And distribute them across nodes.

Parallel Computing

Want science energy?

Install:

MPI (Message Passing Interface)
Python multiprocessing
Distributed simulations

You can:

Run physics simulations
Crack big math problems
Test distributed algorithms

It won’t beat a supercomputer — but it teaches the architecture behind one.

For someone serious about mastering Raspberry Pi:

Phase 1 – Foundations

Raspberry Pi OS
Learn Python + GPIO + Linux basics

Phase 2 – Systems

Ubuntu Server or Fedora
Learn services, networking, Docker

Phase 3 – Security

Kali Linux ARM
Understand networks & vulnerabilities

Phase 4 – Embedded Depth

Arch ARM or Buildroot
Kernel tinkering + C programming

Phase 5 – Creative Engineering

Minecraft API + Pygame + robotics

Now you’re not just a hobbyist.
You’re building embedded systems, software, and infrastructure.

DynDNS + Apache on a Raspberry Pi = classic homelab rite of passage.

The Big Picture

You need 4 things:

Raspberry Pi (running 24/7)
A Dynamic DNS service (because home IPs change)
Port forwarding on your router
Apache configured with your domain

Let’s go step-by-step.

Step 1 — Get a Dynamic DNS (DDNS)

Popular services:

DuckDNS (free, simple)
No-IP (free tier)
Dynu (free option)

I’ll use DuckDNS as example because it’s lightweight.

Create account at DuckDNS
Create a subdomain like:


yourname.duckdns.org

Get your API token from dashboard

Step 2 — Install Auto-IP Updater on Raspberry Pi

Your home IP changes. The Pi must update DuckDNS automatically.

On Raspberry Pi:


sudo apt update
sudo apt install curl
mkdir ~/duckdns
cd ~/duckdns
nano duck.sh

Paste:


echo url="https://www.duckdns.org/update?domains=yourname&token=YOURTOKEN&ip=" | curl -k -o ~/duckdns/duck.log -K -

Save and make executable:


chmod 700 duck.sh

Test it:


./duck.sh

If it says OK → your domain now points to your home IP.

🕒 Make It Auto-Update Every 5 Minutes


crontab -e

Add:


*/5 * * * * ~/duckdns/duck.sh >/dev/null 2>&1

Done. IP auto-syncing forever.

Step 3 — Install Apache


sudo apt install apache2

Test locally:


http://raspberrypi.local


http://YOUR_LOCAL_IP

If you see the Apache default page → we cookin’.

Step 4 — Set Your Website Directory

Default root:


/var/www/html/

Replace index.html:


sudo nano /var/www/html/index.html

Put something like:


<h1>Hello from my Raspberry Pi server 😎</h1>

Save.

Step 5 — Router Port Forwarding

Now the important part.

Log into your router and:

Forward:

External Port 80 → Internal IP of Raspberry Pi
Protocol: TCP

Now your Pi is accessible from outside your network.

Test from phone (turn off WiFi):


http://yourname.duckdns.org

If it loads → congratulations, you’re hosting a public server.

Strongly Recommended: HTTPS (SSL)

Without HTTPS, your traffic is not encrypted.

Install Certbot:


sudo apt install certbot python3-certbot-apache

Then:


sudo certbot --apache

Follow prompts. It will:

Generate SSL certificate
Configure Apache automatically
Redirect HTTP → HTTPS

Now your site is secure.

Hosting a Real Domain (Not Just DuckDNS)

If you buy a domain like:


mycoolsite.com

You can:

Go to domain DNS settings
Set an A record pointing to your home IP
OR use CNAME → yourname.duckdns.org

Then configure Apache virtual host.

Apache Virtual Host Example

Create config:


sudo nano /etc/apache2/sites-available/mycoolsite.conf

Example:


<VirtualHost *:80>
    ServerName mycoolsite.com
    DocumentRoot /var/www/mycoolsite
</VirtualHost>

Enable it:


sudo a2ensite mycoolsite.conf
sudo systemctl reload apache2

Boom. Multiple sites on one Pi.

Important Security Notes (Very Important)

When you expose your Pi to the internet:

Change default passwords
Disable password SSH login
Use SSH keys
Install firewall:


sudo apt install ufw
sudo ufw allow 80
sudo ufw allow 443
sudo ufw enable

Your Pi will get scanned within minutes of going public. That’s normal internet behavior.

Advanced Upgrade Path

If you want to level up:

Use Nginx instead of Apache
Use Docker containers
Use reverse proxy (Traefik / Nginx Proxy Manager)
Use Cloudflare tunnel instead of port forwarding (safer)
Run multiple services on subdomains

A proper homelab web host on a Raspberry Pi

Let’s break it into two clean parts:

Best Dynamic DNS services
Best server apps for hosting websites (WWW)

Best Dynamic DNS (DDNS) Services

🦆 DuckDNS (Free + Simple)

Best for: Beginners & lightweight setups

Totally free
Easy API update script
Works perfectly on Raspberry Pi
Subdomain format: yoursite.duckdns.org

Simple. Reliable. No drama.

No-IP

Best for: Slightly more polished free tier

Free plan requires periodic confirmation
Paid plans support custom domains
Good reliability

Feels more “commercial” than DuckDNS.

Cloudflare (Best Advanced Option)

This is the real power move.

If you:

Buy a domain
Use Cloudflare DNS
Run a small DDNS update script on your Pi

You get:

Free SSL
DDoS protection
Reverse proxy
Optional tunnel (no port forwarding required)

If you’re serious → Cloudflare wins.

Best Web Server Apps for Raspberry Pi

Now let’s talk actual hosting.

Apache

Good old classic.

Pros

Easy config
Tons of tutorials
Great for WordPress

Cons

Heavier than Nginx
Not as modern-performance oriented

Great beginner choice.

Nginx (My Preferred)

Best for: Modern lightweight hosting

Faster under load
Low memory usage
Great reverse proxy
Perfect for static sites

On Raspberry Pi? Chef’s kiss.

Docker + Nginx Proxy Manager

This is where homelab gets sexy.

Run:

Nginx Proxy Manager
WordPress container
Node app container
Database container

All isolated, clean, scalable.

Feels like mini AWS.

What Can You Host?

On a Raspberry Pi 4 (4GB+ recommended):

Static Sites

HTML/CSS
Hugo / Jekyll
React build output

Very fast.

WordPress

Works fine with:

Nginx
MariaDB
PHP-FPM

Just don’t expect enterprise traffic.

Node.js Apps

Express
Next.js (build mode)
APIs

Python Apps

Flask
FastAPI
Django

Perfect dev sandbox.

Best Setup (If You Want It Done Right)

If it were my Pi:

Raspberry Pi 4 (4GB+)
Ubuntu Server
Cloudflare DNS
Cloudflare Tunnel (no open ports)
Docker
Nginx Proxy Manager
Automatic SSL via Let’s Encrypt

Why?

No risky port forwarding
Secure
Scalable
Multiple subdomains
Looks professional

Important: Port Forwarding vs Cloudflare Tunnel

Port forwarding

Simple
− Exposes your IP
− Internet bots will scan you immediately

Cloudflare Tunnel

No ports exposed
Encrypted tunnel
Much safer for home setup

I strongly prefer tunnel method now.

Performance Reality Check

A Raspberry Pi can comfortably handle:

Personal site
Small blog
Portfolio
API for small project
Dev test environment

It will struggle with:

Heavy traffic
Large databases
Video streaming

But for learning and personal hosting? Perfect.

Hosting irssi (IRC client/bouncer) + game servers on a Raspberry Pi is very doable — you just need to match expectations to the hardware.

Let’s break this into two worlds:

IRC / irssi hosting
Game servers & lightweight engines
Best architecture for running both cleanly

Hosting irssi on Raspberry Pi

First thing: irssi is a client, not a server.

So normally you:

Run irssi on your Pi
Connect it to an IRC network
Leave it running 24/7
SSH in from anywhere

That way your IRC session never disconnects.

Basic Setup (Raspberry Pi OS / Ubuntu)


sudo apt update
sudo apt install irssi screen

Start session:


screen -S irc
irssi

Detach:


Ctrl+A then D

Now it runs forever in the background.

SSH back anytime and reattach:


screen -r irc

Better: Use ZNC (IRC Bouncer)

Instead of just irssi, use ZNC so you:

Stay connected permanently
Sync messages across devices
Connect from phone + desktop at same time


sudo apt install znc

Much more modern setup.

Hosting Game Servers on Raspberry Pi

Now we’re talking about actual load.

Important question:
Which Pi model?

Pi 4 (4GB or 8GB) is ideal.
Pi 3 works but limited.

1) Minecraft Server (Java)

Yes, but:

Use PaperMC or optimized forks
Limit players (2–5 max)
Use performance flags
Prefer 4GB+ Pi

Better option:

Use Minecraft Bedrock server (lighter)

2) Minetest (Great Alternative)

Very lightweight voxel game (open-source Minecraft-like).

Runs beautifully on Pi
Good for LAN
Very customizable

Perfect Pi game server.

3) Terraria Server

Works decently on Pi 4.

Low CPU demand compared to Minecraft.

4) Factorio (Headless Server)

Can work on Pi 4 but needs tuning.

Better for small maps & few players.

5) Quake / Doom / Retro FPS Servers

These run extremely well on Raspberry Pi.

Very low resource usage
Fun LAN party setup
Almost zero stress on hardware

Honestly underrated option.

Running Multiple Services Cleanly

Now the real pro move:

Don’t just install everything raw.

Use:

Docker

Install Docker and isolate:

irssi / ZNC container
Minecraft container
Terraria container
Reverse proxy container

This gives you:

Cleaner management
Restart policies
Port mapping control
Easy backups

Access From Internet (Important)

If hosting publicly:

You need:

Static IP or DDNS
Port forwarding
Firewall (ufw)
SSH keys only (no password login)
Possibly fail2ban

Or better:

Use Cloudflare tunnel for web-based services
Only open game ports you need

Game servers exposed publicly get scanned fast.

Resource Reality Check

On a Pi 4 (4GB):

You can safely run:

ZNC (very light)
1 lightweight game server
Basic web admin panel
SSH

Running Minecraft + multiple heavy servers simultaneously?
You’ll feel the CPU limits.

If I Were Building This

Clean setup:

Raspberry Pi 4 (8GB)
Ubuntu Server
Docker
ZNC for IRC
Minetest OR Terraria
Nginx reverse proxy for web dashboard
External SSD (do NOT rely on SD card)

Optional:

Add swap file
Overclock slightly (with cooling)

Bare-metal Raspberry Pi is where the training wheels come off and you meet the silicon directly.

No Linux.
No scheduler.
No drivers.
Just you, the ARM core, and memory-mapped registers.

Let’s go deep but clean.

First: Which Pi?

Bare metal is very different between:

Raspberry Pi 1 / Zero (ARMv6)
Pi 2 (ARMv7)
Pi 3 (ARMv8 64-bit capable)
Pi 4 (Cortex-A72, more complex boot + peripherals)
Raspberry Pi Pico (RP2040, microcontroller)

If you’re serious about embedded learning:

Start with Pi 3 (32-bit mode)
Or start with RP2040 (Pico) if you want true microcontroller simplicity.

The Pi 4 is powerful but more complex (interrupt controller, GPU init, memory layout).

What “Bare Metal” Actually Means on Pi

You:

Write your own startup code
Control the stack pointer
Set up exception vectors
Configure MMU (or disable it)
Access GPIO via memory-mapped registers
Handle interrupts manually

No OS safety net.

It’s not Arduino.
It’s closer to embedded Linux board bring-up.

Professional Advice (Hard Truth Edition)

1️⃣ Learn ARM Architecture Properly

Before touching Pi registers:

Understand ARM privilege levels
Understand exception levels (EL0–EL3 for ARMv8)
Know the difference between:
- IRQ
- FIQ
- Supervisor mode
Learn linker scripts

If you skip this → you’ll struggle randomly.

2️⃣ Master the Boot Process

On Raspberry Pi:

GPU boots first
It loads kernel.img
It jumps to your code

That means:

You don’t control the very first boot stage
You start at a defined entry point

Study the boot flow. It matters.

3️⃣ Understand Memory-Mapped I/O

GPIO isn’t a function call.

It’s:


*(volatile unsigned int*)(GPIO_BASE + OFFSET) = VALUE;

You are writing directly to hardware registers.

Key concept:

volatile is not optional.
Memory barriers matter.

4️⃣ Learn Linker Scripts Early

Professional embedded work always involves:

Custom memory sections
Controlling where .text, .data, .bss go
Stack placement
Heap region definition

A bad linker script = mysterious crash.

Recommended Learning Path (Professional Track)

Phase 1 — Pure ARM Fundamentals

Write LED blink in assembly
Then rewrite in C
Set up your own vector table
Implement simple delay loop

If you can blink an LED without example code, you’re on the right track.

Phase 2 — Interrupts

Configure timer interrupt
Write ISR
Toggle LED via interrupt
Avoid busy loops

If you master interrupts → you’re thinking like embedded engineer.

Phase 3 — Mini Kernel Concepts

Write cooperative scheduler
Add task switching
Implement basic UART driver
Print debug logs via serial

Now you’re basically writing a micro-RTOS.

Phase 4 — Advanced

Enable MMU
Set up paging
Add memory protection
Implement simple syscall layer
SMP (multi-core handling)

That’s professional-grade embedded systems territory.

Toolchain Tips

Use:

arm-none-eabi-gcc
objdump
objcopy
gdb-multiarch

Avoid IDE-heavy setups early.

Know your Makefiles.

You should understand exactly what compiles and links.

Debugging Like a Pro

Bare metal debugging is pain unless you prepare.

Pro tips:

Use UART logging immediately
Add LED panic blink patterns
Use objdump -d constantly
Keep map files from linker

If something crashes and you don’t know why, it’s usually:

Stack corruption
Wrong memory address
Missing memory barrier
Misaligned access

Performance & Stability Tips

Disable unused cores at first
Don’t enable caches until stable
Turn off MMU early on
Use simple polling before interrupts
Build incrementally

Never build 5 features at once.

Bare Metal vs RP2040 (Important Comparison)

If your goal is:

🔹 Industrial embedded engineer career

Use Raspberry Pi (ARM Cortex-A)

🔹 Microcontroller firmware engineer

Use RP2040 (Cortex-M0+)

Pi is closer to:

Embedded Linux systems
Automotive infotainment
SBC board design

RP2040 is closer to:

IoT firmware
Real-time control
Bare-metal microcontroller work

Mindset Shift

Biggest difference from hobby coding:

In embedded:

Undefined behavior kills hardware
You must understand timing
You must think about electrical reality
Every pointer matters
Every bit matters

Core Concepts to Master

ARM exception model
Linker scripts
Memory alignment
Interrupt latency
Cache coherency
DMA
Bus architecture
Stack discipline
Volatile semantics
Bitwise operations

This is real engineering.

Brutally Honest Advice

If you want to go professional:

Don’t just blink LEDs.

Build:

UART driver from scratch
SPI driver
I2C driver
Bootloader
Cooperative scheduler
Minimal file system
SD card driver

And document it.

That portfolio gets interviews.

Raspberry Pi in Space — Is It Real?

Yes. Raspberry Pis have actually flown in space missions and research projects — mostly for:

Education missions
Secondary payload experiments
Onboard image processing
Prototyping

They’re not usually the primary flight computer in major NASA deep-space missions — but they absolutely get used.

International Space Station Experiments

European Space Agency & Astro Pi

The Astro Pi project placed Raspberry Pi units on the ISS.

They’re used for:

Student-written code experiments
Environmental sensing
Camera experiments
Sensor data logging

These Pis are modified:

Radiation-tolerant enclosures
Additional power regulation
Controlled thermal design

That’s legit orbital deployment.

CubeSats & Small Satellites

NASA CubeSat Programs

In small CubeSats, Raspberry Pis are often used for:

Secondary payload processors
Camera processing units
AI inference
Experimental software stacks

Why?

Cheap
Easy Linux environment
ARM-based
Fast prototyping

They’re great for LEO (Low Earth Orbit) short-duration missions.

Space Rovers

For major planetary rovers (Mars, etc.), NASA uses:

Radiation-hardened CPUs
Custom aerospace-grade processors
Fault-tolerant triple redundancy systems

A stock Raspberry Pi would not survive deep space radiation long-term.

However:

For:

Educational rover builds
Earth-based rover prototypes
University robotic rovers
Research simulation platforms

Raspberry Pi is extremely common.

Why Raspberry Pi Isn’t Ideal for Deep Space

Space is brutal:

Cosmic radiation flips memory bits (SEUs)
Extreme temperature swings
Vacuum
Power instability
EMI interference

Consumer Pis:

Have no radiation hardening
Use SDRAM (very radiation sensitive)
No ECC memory
No built-in redundancy

A single bit flip can crash Linux.

So Why Use Them Anyway?

Because:

Cheap enough to risk
Easy to replace
Linux ecosystem
Huge developer base
ARM familiarity
Rapid prototyping

For short missions or non-critical systems? Perfect.

Professional Perspective

In aerospace engineering, we often:

Prototype on Raspberry Pi
Move to industrial SBC
Then move to rad-hardened design

Pi becomes the “concept validation platform.”

What Engineers Actually Do to Make It Survive

To fly a Pi in LEO:

Add watchdog timers
Add external hardware reset circuits
Use radiation shielding
Keep mission duration short
Use redundant units
Periodically reboot
Use filesystem journaling protection

Basically: design around its weaknesses.

If You Want to Build “Space-Style” Systems on Pi

You can simulate space-grade design by:

Implementing watchdog hardware
Creating dual-Pi redundancy
Adding failover logic
Testing power brownout recovery
Simulating radiation bit-flip via memory corruption injection
Designing fault-tolerant logging

That’s aerospace engineering mindset.

If Your Goal Is Career-Oriented

If you want to work in:

Aerospace Embedded Systems

Focus on:

RTOS (FreeRTOS, VxWorks concepts)
Fault tolerance
Radiation effects
ARM low-level programming
CAN bus
Deterministic systems

Rover Robotics

Focus on:

Computer vision
Sensor fusion
Control theory
SLAM
Power management

Cool Reality

Raspberry Pi is:

Used on ISS (education modules)
Used in CubeSats
Used in university space projects
Used in rover prototypes
Used in satellite ground stations

It’s not the Mars rover brain.
But it’s absolutely part of the ecosystem.