diff --git a/cartridge.rs b/cartridge.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f144780
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cartridge.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,227 @@
+const NES_TAG: [u8; 4] = [0x4E, 0x45, 0x53, 0x1A];
+const PRG_ROM_PAGE_SIZE: usize = 16384;
+const CHR_ROM_PAGE_SIZE: usize = 8192;
+
+#[derive(Debug, PartialEq)]
+pub enum Mirroring {
+    Vertical,
+    Horizontal,
+    FourScreen,
+}
+
+/// Contains all information extracted from the NES ROM file
+pub struct Rom {
+    // Contains the Program ROM which is the main executable
+    pub prg_rom: Vec<u8>,
+    // Contains the Character ROM which is used for graphics
+    pub chr_rom: Vec<u8>,
+    // Indicates which memory mapper to use
+    pub mapper: u8,
+    // Determines if the background tiles are mirrored across the screen
+    pub screen_mirroring: Mirroring,
+}
+
+impl Rom {
+    pub fn new(raw: &Vec<u8>) -> Result<Rom, String> {
+        // Check for valid header. Compare the first 4 bytes to NES_TAG
+        // We want to ensure that we get the standard iNES format or else we want to error out.
+        if &raw[0..4] != NES_TAG {
+            return Err("File is not in iNES file format".to_string());
+        }
+
+        // Extract the mapper number. The mapper dictates how to interpret the memory layout of the
+        // ROM. If we don't have this, we won't know how tto access the PRG (program) or the CHR
+        // (character) data correctly
+        let mapper = (raw[7] & 0b1111_0000) | (raw[6] >> 4);
+
+        // Check iNES version. We want iNES 1.0 because iNES 2.0 introduces additional
+        // complexities.
+        let ines_ver = (raw[7] >> 2) & 0b11;
+        if ines_ver != 0 {
+            return Err("NES2.0 format is not supported".to_string());
+        }
+
+        // Determine screen mirroring. This will be used by the PPC to correctly render the game
+        // graphics.
+        let four_screen = raw[6] & 0b1000 != 0;
+        let vertical_mirroring = raw[6] & 0b1 != 0;
+        let screen_mirroring = match (four_screen, vertical_mirroring) {
+            (true, _) => Mirroring::FourScreen,
+            (false, true) => Mirroring::Vertical,
+            (false, false) => Mirroring::Horizontal,
+        };
+
+        // Calculate PRG and CHR ROM Sizes. The emulator needs to know how much data ot read and
+        // where to the PRG and CHR ROMs start. This directly influences how the emulator
+        // initializes memory.
+        let prg_rom_size = raw[4] as usize * PRG_ROM_PAGE_SIZE;
+        let chr_rom_size = raw[5] as usize * CHR_ROM_PAGE_SIZE;
+
+        // Check if the ROM includes trainer data and adjust the starting position of the PRG.
+        // Trainer data is included typically with patches or enabling cheats.
+        let skip_trainer = raw[6] & 0b100 != 0;
+
+        // We need to skip over the trainer data (if included) so that we know where the PRG data
+        // starts.
+        let prg_rom_start = 16 + if skip_trainer { 512 } else { 0 };
+        let chr_rom_start = prg_rom_start + prg_rom_size;
+
+        Ok(Rom {
+            prg_rom: raw[prg_rom_start..(prg_rom_start + prg_rom_size)].to_vec(),
+            chr_rom: raw[chr_rom_start..(chr_rom_start + chr_rom_size)].to_vec(),
+            mapper,
+            screen_mirroring,
+        })
+    }
+}
+
+pub mod test {
+
+    use super::*;
+
+    // we're going to simulate the rom file in memory
+    struct TestRom {
+        header: Vec<u8>,
+        trainer: Option<Vec<u8>>,
+        pgp_rom: Vec<u8>,
+        chr_rom: Vec<u8>,
+    }
+
+    /// Combines the header, trainer (if any), PRG ROM, and CHR ROM into a complete ROM file.
+    fn create_rom(rom: TestRom) -> Vec<u8> {
+        let mut result = Vec::with_capacity(
+            rom.header.len()
+                + rom.trainer.as_ref().map_or(0, |t| t.len())
+                + rom.pgp_rom.len()
+                + rom.chr_rom.len(),
+        );
+
+        result.extend(&rom.header);
+        if let Some(t) = rom.trainer {
+            result.extend(t);
+        }
+        result.extend(&rom.pgp_rom);
+        result.extend(&rom.chr_rom);
+
+        result
+    }
+
+    /// Create a test ROM with default settings and passes it to Rom::new
+    pub fn test_rom(program: Vec<u8>) -> Rom {
+        let mut pgp_rom_contents = program;
+        pgp_rom_contents.resize(2 * PRG_ROM_PAGE_SIZE, 0);
+
+        let test_rom = create_rom(TestRom {
+            header: vec![
+                0x4E, 0x45, 0x53, 0x1A, 0x02, 0x01, 0x31, 00, 00, 00, 00, 00, 00, 00, 00, 00,
+            ],
+            trainer: None,
+            pgp_rom: pgp_rom_contents,
+            chr_rom: vec![2; 1 * CHR_ROM_PAGE_SIZE],
+        });
+
+        Rom::new(&test_rom).unwrap()
+    }
+
+    /// Test a basic rom with no trainer data
+    #[test]
+    fn test() {
+        // Arrange and create a valid rom
+        let test_rom = create_rom(TestRom {
+            header: vec![
+                0x4E, 0x45, 0x53, 0x1A, 0x02, 0x01, 0x31, 00, 00, 00, 00, 00, 00, 00, 00, 00,
+            ],
+            trainer: None,
+            pgp_rom: vec![1; 2 * PRG_ROM_PAGE_SIZE],
+            chr_rom: vec![2; 1 * CHR_ROM_PAGE_SIZE],
+        });
+
+        // Parse out the ROM
+        let rom: Rom = Rom::new(&test_rom).unwrap();
+
+        assert_eq!(
+            rom.chr_rom,
+            vec!(2; 1 * CHR_ROM_PAGE_SIZE, "CHR ROM data mismatch")
+        );
+        assert_eq!(
+            rom.prg_rom,
+            vec!(1; 2 * PRG_ROM_PAGE_SIZE, "PRG ROM data mismatch")
+        );
+        assert_eq!(rom.mapper, 3, "Mapper value mismatch");
+        assert_eq!(
+            rom.screen_mirroring,
+            Mirroring::Vertical,
+            "Screen mirroring mismatch"
+        );
+    }
+
+    /// Parse ROM with trainer data
+    #[test]
+    fn test_with_trainer() {
+        // Create a valid ROM with 512-byte trainer data
+        let test_rom = create_rom(TestRom {
+            header: vec![
+                0x4E,
+                0x45,
+                0x53,
+                0x1A,
+                0x02,
+                0x01,
+                0x31 | 0b100, // this is the trainer bit set
+                00,
+                00,
+                00,
+                00,
+                00,
+                00,
+                00,
+                00,
+                00,
+            ],
+            trainer: Some(vec![0; 512]),
+            pgp_rom: vec![1; 2 * PRG_ROM_PAGE_SIZE],
+            chr_rom: vec![2; 1 * CHR_ROM_PAGE_SIZE],
+        });
+
+        // Parse the ROM
+        let rom: Rom = Rom::new(&test_rom).unwrap();
+
+        assert_eq!(
+            rom.chr_rom,
+            vec!(2; 1 * CHR_ROM_PAGE_SIZE),
+            "CHR ROM data mismatch"
+        );
+        assert_eq!(
+            rom.prg_rom,
+            vec!(1; 2 * PRG_ROM_PAGE_SIZE),
+            "PRG ROM data mismatch"
+        );
+        assert_eq!(rom.mapper, 3, "Mapper value mismatch");
+        assert_eq!(
+            rom.screen_mirroring,
+            Mirroring::Vertical,
+            "Screen mirroring mode mismatch"
+        );
+    }
+
+    /// Test invalid NES 2.0 format
+    #[test]
+    fn test_nes2_is_not_supported() {
+        // Create ROM with NES 2.0 version flag
+        let test_rom = create_rom(TestRom {
+            header: vec![
+                0x4E, 0x45, 0x53, 0x1A, 0x01, 0x01, 0x31, 0x8, 00, 00, 00, 00, 00, 00, 00, 00,
+            ],
+            trainer: None,
+            pgp_rom: vec![1; 1 * PRG_ROM_PAGE_SIZE],
+            chr_rom: vec![2; 1 * CHR_ROM_PAGE_SIZE],
+        });
+
+        // Try to parse the ROM
+        let rom = Rom::new(&test_rom);
+        match rom {
+            Result::Ok(_) => assert!(false, "should not load rom"),
+            Result::Err(str) => assert_eq!(str, "NES2.0 format is not supported"),
+        }
+    }
+}