The year he turned 24, he joined NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
The breakthrough yearThe year he turned 31, he posted a Halloween costume video in which two iPads made it look as if he had a hole in his torso. Bloomberg reported that millions of people watched it.
The year he turned 32, he launched Digital Dudz, a costume company, on Oct. 3. The year he turned 33, he left NASA after nine years and sold Digital Dudz to Morphsuits.
The year he turned 35, he moved to Apple’s Special Projects Group. The year he turned 36, he made his first appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live. The year he turned 37, a six-foot Nerf gun he built entered Guinness World Records 2017 as the world’s largest.
The year he turned 38, he posted a glitter bomb video for package thieves that passed 40 million views. He then removed two reactions after learning they were staged. The year he turned 39, he made a Shark Week special and launched #TeamTrees with MrBeast.
The year he turned 40, he was working on YouTube full time, with a Discovery Channel show picked up. The year he turned 41, he won the IET’s STEM Personality of the Year and launched #TeamSeas.
The year he turned 42, he unveiled CrunchLabs and its Build Box subscription, and guest-hosted Jimmy Kimmel Live. The year he turned 43, he gave the MIT commencement address.
The year he turned 44, he received the FIRST Robotics Founder’s Award. The year he turned 45, Netflix announced a competition show with him, and #TeamWater, which he launched with MrBeast, reached its $40 million goal.
The year he turned 46, Netflix announced his student competition series SCHOOLED!, and he presented a free STEM curriculum, Class CrunchLabs, at TED2026.
Mark Rober posted his first YouTube video, a Halloween costume built with two iPads, in Oct 2011, the year he turned 31. Bloomberg reported that millions watched it. His glitter bomb video for package thieves followed in December 2018, the year he turned 38.
Ages are by calendar year (the year minus the birth year), birthdays aside.
He joined JPL in 2004 and later worked on the Curiosity rover.
Source 06 · Orange County Register · Brea grad blasts record with Nerf gun · opens in a new tabSource 01 · Wired UK · Mark Rober left Nasa to make awesome wearable tech Halloween costumes · opens in a new tabOne iPad on his chest and one on his back made it look as if he had a hole in his torso. Bloomberg reported that millions of people watched the video.
Gizmodo wrote that he joined JPL seven years earlier and worked on Curiosity from the start. It also identified him as the man behind the iPad costume.
Source 07 · Gizmodo · Seven Years In the Life of One of the Engineers of the Mars Curiosity Rover · opens in a new tab Date of the Gizmodo article, published after the rover’s Mars landing.He and friends launched a free app and a website selling costumes. Bloomberg reported $250,000 in sales in the first month.
Source 01 · Wired UK · Mark Rober left Nasa to make awesome wearable tech Halloween costumes · opens in a new tabSource 02 · Bloomberg · A NASA Engineer Builds a Better Halloween Costume · opens in a new tabHe had spent seven of the nine years on the Curiosity rover. He sold Digital Dudz to Morphsuits and joined the company.
Source 01 · Wired UK · Mark Rober left Nasa to make awesome wearable tech Halloween costumes · opens in a new tabSource 02 · Bloomberg · A NASA Engineer Builds a Better Halloween Costume · opens in a new tab Wired says he worked at Nasa until June 2013; the day is not given.His costumes were carried in hundreds of Party City stores, and he told Bloomberg that sales were up 400 percent from the year before.
Source 02 · Bloomberg · A NASA Engineer Builds a Better Halloween Costume · opens in a new tabHe changed jobs in the summer of 2015 and moved to Sunnyvale. Variety later reported the employer was Apple.
Source 08 · Variety · YouTuber Mark Rober Secretly Develops VR for Self-Driving Cars for Apple · opens in a new tabSource 05 · The Silicon Valley Voice · Sunnyvale Resident Glitter Bombs Package Thieves, Gets Discovery Channel Show · opens in a new tab Variety cites his LinkedIn profile for the summer 2015 job change; the employer was reported in 2018.The segment was about using simple engineering to pull off April Fools’ pranks.
Source 09 · Fast Company · How Mark Rober became the Willy Wonka of engineering · opens in a new tab Fast Company gives the year only.It shot foam pool-noodle bullets up to 50 yards at 40 mph and appeared in Guinness World Records 2017.
Source 06 · Orange County Register · Brea grad blasts record with Nerf gun · opens in a new tab Date of the Orange County Register report; the recognition date is not given.Variety said he had worked on VR for self-driving cars. He had close to 3.4 million YouTube followers.
Source 08 · Variety · YouTuber Mark Rober Secretly Develops VR for Self-Driving Cars for Apple · opens in a new tabThe device used four smartphones and 1lb of glitter, and sprayed fart spray. The BBC reported more than six million views.
Source 10 · BBC News · YouTuber’s glitter bomb tricks parcel thieves · opens in a new tab Date of the BBC report; the upload date is not given.He said two of the five reactions involved acquaintances of a person who helped him, and removed them. USA Today reported more than 40 million views.
Source 11 · USA Today · Viral glitter bomb video featured fake thieves, creator admits in apology · opens in a new tabThe fundraiser for the Arbor Day Foundation had a $20 million goal. It was reached in less than two months.
Source 14 · The Verge · MrBeast partners with more than 600 YouTubers to plant 20 million trees · opens in a new tabSource 16 · Variety · MrBeast, Mark Rober Reteam for TeamSeas · opens in a new tabSource 15 · Business Insider · #TeamTrees donors · opens in a new tabDeseret News reported 8 million views at the time.
Source 13 · Deseret News · BYU grad and former NASA engineer teams with Macaulay Culkin · opens in a new tab Deseret News reported it on Dec. 18, 2019; the upload date is not given.The Silicon Valley Voice reported he had left Apple and had more than 10 million followers. A show with Jimmy Kimmel was picked up by Discovery Channel.
Source 05 · The Silicon Valley Voice · Sunnyvale Resident Glitter Bombs Package Thieves, Gets Discovery Channel Show · opens in a new tab Date of the article; the exact date he left Apple is not given.He built a Ninja Warrior course for squirrels to keep them away from his bird feeder.
Source 09 · Fast Company · How Mark Rober became the Willy Wonka of engineering · opens in a new tabSource 17 · CNET · Ex-NASA engineer builds exploding glitter bomb to catch package thieves · opens in a new tab Fast Company gives the month only.CNET described four phone cameras, an Arduino controller, a SIM card to play sounds remotely and GPS location sent to him.
Source 17 · CNET · Ex-NASA engineer builds exploding glitter bomb to catch package thieves · opens in a new tab Date of the CNET article; the upload date is not given.The Institution of Engineering and Technology named him STEM Personality of the Year.
Source 18 · The IET · IET crowns STEM Personalities of the Year · opens in a new tabThe three-hour virtual benefit for NEXT for Autism raised over $3 million.
Source 19 · The Hollywood Reporter · Jimmy Kimmel, Conan O’Brien, Charlize Theron and More Help Raise $3M for Next for Autism · opens in a new tabIt was the sequel to the 2020 obstacle course video.
Source 09 · Fast Company · How Mark Rober became the Willy Wonka of engineering · opens in a new tab Fast Company gives the month only.The goal was $30 million to remove 30 million pounds of trash from oceans, rivers and beaches.
Source 16 · Variety · MrBeast, Mark Rober Reteam for TeamSeas · opens in a new tabThe 26th Annual Webby Awards named him Film & Video Person of the Year.
Source 04 · Webby Awards · Mark Rober, Film & Video Person of the Year · opens in a new tab The Webby page does not give a date and calls it the 2021 honor; the year is from the 26th Annual Webby Awards page for 2022.A mid-June video showed his new headquarters and the Build Box subscription. Fast Company reported over 6 million views in 24 hours.
Source 09 · Fast Company · How Mark Rober became the Willy Wonka of engineering · opens in a new tab Fast Company gives mid-June without a day.Jimmy Kimmel invited him to host the show while Kimmel was on vacation.
Source 09 · Fast Company · How Mark Rober became the Willy Wonka of engineering · opens in a new tabHe spoke at the OneMIT Commencement Ceremony.
Source 20 · MIT News · Mark Rober to deliver MIT’s 2023 Commencement address · opens in a new tabSource 21 · Boston.com · Here’s the life advice YouTuber Mark Rober gave to MIT’s 2023 graduates · opens in a new tabFIRST’s 2024 Championship awards page lists him as the Founder’s Award recipient.
Source 22 · FIRST · 2024 FIRST Championship awards · opens in a new tab The event page does not show a date; the year is from the 2024 event page.The goal was $40 million for WaterAid. TheWrap reported the goal was reached on Sunday, Aug. 31.
Source 23 · Variety · MrBeast, Mark Rober Launch TeamWater · opens in a new tabSource 24 · TheWrap · MrBeast and Mark Rober Raise Over $40 Million for Clean Water Push · opens in a new tabCrunchLabs and Jimmy Kimmel’s company Kimmelot were set to produce it.
Source 03 · USA Today · Mark Rober, kid-friendly engineer, to experiment with new Netflix show · opens in a new tabBroadwayWorld reported over 12 million views in its first two months.
Source 25 · BroadwayWorld · Mark Rober To Host New Student Competition Series SCHOOLED! at Netflix · opens in a new tab BroadwayWorld gives the month only.The free channel carries videos from his YouTube channel and CrunchLabs.
Source 26 · The Hollywood Reporter · Mark Rober, a Top YouTube Creator, Sets FAST Channel on Samsung TV Plus · opens in a new tab Date of the Hollywood Reporter article.The toys were slated for retailers and e-commerce sites in the fall.
Source 27 · PR Newswire · Moose Toys unveils CrunchLabs toy line with Mark Rober · opens in a new tabHe is host and an executive producer of the student competition series.
Source 25 · BroadwayWorld · Mark Rober To Host New Student Competition Series SCHOOLED! at Netflix · opens in a new tabHe presented the free online STEM curriculum for grades 3-8 on the TED stage in Vancouver. He said about $60 million had been invested in building it.
Source 28 · Good Good Good · Mark Rober invested $60M on building STEM curriculum · opens in a new tab Good Good Good, dated Apr. 14, 2026, says the talk was earlier that week.END OF SELECTED RECORDSSelected records, 2004–2026 · not a complete list of work. “Key moment” is an editorial label, not a measure of success.
What did they do, and at what age?
AgeTrail lines up the key moments of a life by age.
Debut and breakthrough are marked separately, and every record has a source.
Internet · United States
Mar 11, 1980 —
Ages are counted from the birth year 1980: the year of the event minus 1980, birthdays aside. “Key moment” labels and the connecting story are AgeTrail's editorial reading.
Fact-checked: 2026.09.30 · An independent archive, not affiliated with the person or their agency.