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Humans Could One Day Race Vehicles Like the CrossPlanet on Alien Worlds

There is no doubt that in the future humankind will colonize off world planets, assuming no one gets mad and pushes the launch button on a set of nukes.
CrossPlanet Off-Road Space Rover 12 photos
Photo: Andrew Gulev
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Assuming humans avert nuclear winter and move to another planet, the only way to survive will probably be in a suit or a vehicle of some sort. Everyone knows this to be true, as humans appear to be unique only to planet Earth, thus adapted for these conditions and none other.

Imagine for a moment that humans have colonized a planet that seems to offer terrains like those found on Earth and that they’ve been established here for a while. Let’s call this planet mini-Earth. Now, things get boring on mini-Earth as there’s only so much work you can do and still stay mentally healthy.

Speaking of mental health, play and relaxation are sure to be a big part of daily routines. That’s what you see here, nothing but a fun machine meant to give off-world settlers the ride of their lives.

CrossPlanet Off\-Road Space Rover
Photo: Andrew Gulev
It’s called the CrossPlanet and is an off-road off-planet racing rover with one simple objective, to make it through absolutely any terrain and to do it as fast as possible. Guess what, that’s also the only thing Andrew Gulev, the designer, states on his ArtStation page. Nothing else about this design is revealed, so here goes.

Let me just start off by saying that if people ever start racing on the Moon or a place like mini-Earth, I am so glad it’s in a vehicle that looks like this. Just look at this rover, it’s like it was just ripped out of last year's Baja race and equipped with off-world capabilities.

One of the more important features on this rover are the wheels. If you look closely at the treads, you’ll notice they are anything but traditional. Actually, this sort of wheel mechanism has been around since the 1970s. It’s called a Mecanum wheel, and what it allows a vehicle to do is move omnidirectionally without the wheels being turned into the respective direction.

Due to unsure and uneven terrains, another point of focus for this lunar buggy is the suspension. Here, the designer included a system that allows the rover to coast over terrains as if nothing is happening. If you haven’t had a look in the gallery yet, please do so as there are a few images that will show you the exact size of terrain the CrossPlanet can handle.

CrossPlanet Off\-Road Space Rover
Photo: Andrew Gulev
This suspension system also allows the rover to ride low to the ground or lifted. Unlike most suspension systems used today, that only lift the body of a vehicle, here, the entire vehicle is lifted to provide clearance for the entire vehicle, chassis included.

One feature that isn’t very clear is whether there are a set of rocket boosters strapped to the rear of this rover. Taking into consideration it’s a vehicle that’s meant to coast over land, sand, mud, and even mountains, it’ll sure help to have a pair of boosters strapped to your backside.

Sure, it’s a rendering of a vehicle that currently floats around in someone's dream, video game, or possibly the next interstellar racing movie, but many a times have dream become a reality. Why should this be any different? It’s just marketing really, marketing to the right people.

Heck, if someone made a super-fast and nimble toy car with a couple of one-time CO2 boosters on the rear, I'd buy it, play with it, and wonder how this toy may one day be used in space exploration.
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About the author: Cristian Curmei
Cristian Curmei profile photo

A bit of a nomad at heart (being born in Europe and raised in several places in the USA), Cristian is enamored with travel trailers, campers and bikes. He also tests and writes about urban means of transportation like scooters, mopeds and e-bikes (when he's not busy hosting our video stories and guides).
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