The Penelope will be 8.5 feet in length and will have a 4-inch diameter. The vehicle will use a solid propellant motor that will bring the rocket to a predicted apogee of 4100 feet above ground level (AGL). The vehicle will use a two-bay recovery system which means that the rocket will separate at two points through flight to release the drogue parachute at apogee and the main parachute at 600 feet AGL.

The payload for the 2025 competition is to design and fly a STEMnaut atmosphere independent lander. This payload is a capsule capable of safely retaining four STEMnauts and using a radio to transmit to a NASA-owned receiver as many as possible of the following data about the rockets flight and landing location.
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-Temperature of landing site
-Apogee reached
-battery check/power status
-Orientation of on-board STEMnauts
-Time of landing
-Maximum velocity
-Landing velocity, G-forces sustained
-Calculated STEMnaut crew survivability