You crash-land on an alien planet, stranded 100 feet underwater with a wrecked control panel. Each day's circuit brings one of your ship's systems back: lights, the solar array, security, the depth readout, the launch panel and the landing gear display. Then you get off this rock.
The lessons are professionally produced videos taught on camera by Dr. Greg Lyzenga, a Harvey Mudd College physics professor and NASA JPL scientist. 31 filmed lessons (Day 0 to Day 30), about 10 hours of video, one story from start to finish. You write C++ on the HERO Board.
Ages 12 and up (as printed on the box). No experience needed. The lessons are free to watch here. The kit is $60 (sale price through November 1, 2026; regularly $97) at craftingtable.com.
The course is split into six chapters, each one a ship system you need to repair. You start in total darkness and work your way up to a launch sequence.
Your cabin is pitch black. Wire LEDs with resistors on a breadboard, read a DIP switch, and write your first programs to bring the lights back.
Battery levels are critical. Read a photoresistor to watch the solar array, mix colours with an RGB LED, and build a battery gauge that changes colour with the power level.
Someone is trying to get into your ship. Wire a buzzer for alarms and a 4x4 keypad for passcode entry, then build a security panel with alarms.
Time to ascend. Drive a 4-digit display for depth readings, decode a scrambled message, and turn a rotary encoder into the dial that pilots the ship up.
You've reached the surface. Wire an OLED screen for graphics and status readouts, and build the launch sequence: three arming switches, a countdown and a status screen.
Final stretch. Animate bitmap graphics on the OLED, build the autopilot menu, bring the landing gear display online and finish the mission.
16-Button Keypad, 7-Segment Display, Breadboard, DIP Switch (3-switch), HERO Board, LED, OLED Display, Passive Buzzer, Photoresistor, RGB LED, Resistors, Rotary Encoder. No soldering: every build plugs into a breadboard.
Complete beginners: teens, adults and retirees. You go at your own pace. One payment. No subscription, and nothing expires. Schools use it too; teacher dashboards and student tracking are at craftingtable.com/edu. Stuck? The Help Center has a guide for every part.
Get the kit. Start the mission.
$60 (sale price through November 1, 2026; regularly $97). Ships to the US, Canada, the UK and Australia. 30-day returns. Questions: support@craftingtable.com.
craftingtable.com/products/adventure-kit-30-days-lost-in-space