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Mars rover concept vehicle to be displayed at National Air and Space Museum

July 19, 2017 at 4:42 p.m. EDT
This concept rover can separate in the middle, with the front end working as a scout vehicle and the rear end working as a laboratory. (Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex)

Want to see the kind of vehicle that can explore the surface of Mars? The National Air and Space Museum in Washington will be showcasing a 5,500-pound, 11-foot-tall Mars rover concept vehicle Friday and Saturday.

As part of its annual “Mars Day!” celebration, the museum will put the rover on display and host NASA scientists and astronauts.

The next Mars rover mission is set to land on the Red Planet in 2020, and although this rover is not the one that will be sent to Mars, it features elements that will be used in designing future Martian vehicles. The concept vehicle is on a multistate tour set up by the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida.

Although the rover checks in at 28 feet long, it can separate in the middle, with the front end working as a scout vehicle equipped with communication devices and the rear end working as a laboratory.

The vehicle runs using an electric motor fueled by solar panels and battery power, and its wheels are engineered to navigate Mars’ dunes, rocks and craters.