This Futuristic Mars Rover Looks Like an Awesome NASA Tank

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By Tariq Malik
published

Mars rover concept
A sleek, black, concept Mars rover is seen at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Cape Canaveral, Florida. The rover will tour the U.S. East Coast this summer for the center's Summer of Mars program. (Image credit: Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex)

There's off-roading, and then there's off-roading on Mars. And from the looks of this concept rover, it's a vehicle that can handle any terrain on Earth (and beyond). 

This sleek, black, monster of a Mars rover is a concept design of a vehicle that might one day transport astronauts across the Red Planet. To me, it looks like "The Martian" met a tank with a "Knight Rider" obsession and spawned a Mars car that runs on awesome. 

The rover was built for the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex — a space museum center near the NASA spaceport in Cape Canaveral, Florida — as part of its Summer of Mars program this summer. It will be used "for the purposes of education and inspiration," Complex representatives explained in an email alert Friday (May 12). [In Photos: Driving on the Moon] 

"As with all 'secret missions,' we are limited at this point as to what we can reveal about it," they wrote. "We will share the exciting updates and information very soon."

According to Business Insider, the concept rover was designed by Marc Parker of Parker Brothers Concepts. It's 23 feet long (7 meters), 13 feet wide (4 m), 11 feet tall (3.3 m) and weighs an estimated 5,000 lbs. (2,268 kilograms), Business Insider reported.

A quick look at the Visitor Complex's Summer of Mars website revealed a tantalizing clue. The rover is part of the complex's new Astronaut Training Experience attraction that's opening in the fall. And the rover is not staying in Florida this summer! Like any good rover, it's hitting the open road.

"Check back here for cities and dates of the rover's East Coast tour this summer!" the website reads. 

So, if you live on the East Coast, keep an eye out for this concept Mars rover's road show this summer! 

Email Tariq Malik at tmalik@space.com or follow him @tariqjmalik and Google+. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.

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Tariq Malik
Tariq Malik
Editor-in-Chief

Tariq is the Editor-in-Chief of Space.com and joined the team in 2001, first as an intern and staff writer, and later as an editor. He covers human spaceflight, exploration and space science, as well as skywatching and entertainment. He became Space.com's Managing Editor in 2009 and Editor-in-Chief in 2019. Before joining Space.com, Tariq was a staff reporter for The Los Angeles Times covering education and city beats in La Habra, Fullerton and Huntington Beach. In October 2022, Tariq received the Harry Kolcum Award for excellence in space reporting from the National Space Club Florida Committee. He is also an Eagle Scout (yes, he has the Space Exploration merit badge) and went to Space Camp four times as a kid and a fifth time as an adult. He has journalism degrees from the University of Southern California and New York University. You can find Tariq at Space.com and as the co-host to the This Week In Space podcast with space historian Rod Pyle on the TWiT network. To see his latest project, you can follow Tariq on Twitter @tariqjmalik.