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About
Mission Planner is a comprehensive ground control station (GCS) application designed for use with ArduPilot-based autonomous vehicles including copters, planes, rovers, blimps, submarines, and antenna trackers. Originally created by Michael Oborne, it has grown into the primary planning and configuration tool for the ArduPilot community worldwide. At its core, Mission Planner offers point-and-click waypoint, fence, and rally-point entry using satellite imagery from Google Maps, Bing, OpenStreetMap, or custom WMS providers, making complex autonomous mission planning accessible without writing a single line of code. Operators can select mission commands from intuitive drop-down menus, dramatically reducing setup time. Beyond mission planning, the application allows users to download and analyze flight log files, giving engineers and hobbyists deep insight into vehicle performance and flight data. It also provides a full autopilot configuration interface, letting users tune flight controllers and system parameters for any supported vehicle type. For developers and researchers, Mission Planner integrates with PC-based flight simulators to build complete software-in-the-loop (SITL) UAV simulation environments, and can run its own built-in SITL simulation for a wide range of ArduPilot frame types — accelerating development and testing without physical hardware. Mission Planner is free and open-source, backed by the ArduPilot development team, and supported by an active community via forums, Facebook groups, and Discord channels.
Key Features
- Point-and-Click Mission Planning: Plan waypoints, geofences, and rally points visually using Google Maps, Bing, OpenStreetMap, or custom WMS imagery — no coding required.
- Autopilot Configuration: Configure all ArduPilot autopilot parameters for copters, planes, rovers, submarines, and more through a structured interface.
- Flight Log Download & Analysis: Download and deeply analyze mission log files to review vehicle performance, diagnose issues, and optimize flight behavior.
- SITL Simulation: Run software-in-the-loop simulations either standalone or integrated with a PC flight simulator, supporting a wide range of ArduPilot vehicle frame types.
- OpenDroneID Support: Includes an OpenDroneID panel for compliance with remote identification requirements for UAV operations.
Use Cases
- Planning autonomous waypoint missions for commercial drone survey and mapping operations.
- Configuring and tuning ArduPilot autopilot parameters for custom UAV builds.
- Downloading and analyzing post-flight logs to diagnose crashes or optimize performance.
- Running SITL simulations during ArduPilot firmware development and testing.
- Setting up geofences and rally points for safe beyond-visual-line-of-sight (BVLOS) operations.
Pros
- Completely Free & Open Source: Mission Planner costs nothing to use and is backed by the active ArduPilot open-source community, ensuring regular updates and broad vehicle support.
- All-in-One GCS Solution: Combines mission planning, autopilot configuration, log analysis, and simulation into a single application, eliminating the need for multiple tools.
- Wide Vehicle & Map Support: Supports all ArduPilot vehicle types and multiple map providers including Google Maps, Bing, and OpenStreetMap.
Cons
- Windows-Centric: Mission Planner is primarily designed for Windows, limiting direct usage for macOS or Linux users without workarounds.
- Steep Learning Curve: The breadth of features and ArduPilot-specific terminology can be overwhelming for beginners new to autonomous vehicle systems.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Mission Planner used for?
Mission Planner is a ground control station used to plan autonomous missions, configure ArduPilot autopilots, analyze flight logs, and simulate UAV flights for a wide range of vehicle types including drones, planes, rovers, and submarines.
Is Mission Planner free?
Yes, Mission Planner is completely free and open-source, developed and maintained by the ArduPilot Dev Team and community contributors.
Which platforms does Mission Planner support?
Mission Planner is primarily a Windows desktop application. While some users run it on macOS or Linux via compatibility layers like Mono or Wine, official support is focused on Windows.
Can I use Mission Planner without a physical drone?
Yes. Mission Planner includes built-in software-in-the-loop (SITL) simulation and can interface with PC flight simulators, allowing full mission planning and testing without physical hardware.
What autopilot hardware is supported?
Mission Planner supports any flight controller running ArduPilot firmware, including Pixhawk-series boards and other compatible autopilot hardware across the ArduPilot ecosystem.
