See photos of NASA's suitcase-sized rovers that will soon map the moon's surface

Three small rovers with four wheels each pictured in a lab with scientists standing in the background to observe.

NASA test drove the mini autonomous rovers that will soon fly to the moon and collectively map the lunar surface.

The rovers are part of a technology demonstration called Cooperative Autonomous Distributed Robotic Exploration (CADRE), which is designed to show that a group of robotic spacecraft can work together without direct human control. NASA took the suitcase-sized rovers for a test drive across Mars Yard at the agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) to simulate the rugged terrain they’ll experience on the moon.