Land Rover Voivod RM17 - Judge Dredd Rover Concept Greenlighted as Mars Mission Rover

The Russian Aviation and Space Agency today officially announced its "Mars Voivod 2017 Exploratory Mission". The mission, for which rumors have swirled for several weeks, includes a joint design and engineering effort between the Agency and Jaguar Land Rover of epic proportions. The mission is slated to put an exploratory and scientific analysis remotely operated vehicle on the red planet’s surface in September 2017.

“For the first time in history, a space agency and vehicle manufacturer are teaming up to co-design and engineer a multi-use research remotely operated vehicle for deployment on the planet Mars. The specs call for a myriad of robotic testing and analysis equipment married to a vehicle platform with extraordinary flexibility, durability, dependability and off-road capability – all core competencies for which Land Rover is known the world over. We are excited and honored that the Russian Aviation and Space Agency chose us to participate in this exciting and challenging mission,” said Bob Joyce, Group Engineering Director with Jaguar Land Rover.

While the announcement did not provide a lot of details on the mission or the exact specs for the mission vehicle, a presentation tip sheet had this to say about the Mars ‘Rover’:

• Land Rover has dubbed the remotely operated vehicle (ROV) the “Land Rover Voivod RM17”
• The design style of the vehicle will be based on the specialty vehicle concept Land Rover built for the movie ‘Judge Dredd’
• The size of the vehicle will be approximately ¼ of its original size as seen in the movie
• The chassis and electronics it uses is an entirely new platform that Land Rover is calling its ‘ET5’ platform. It includes a lightweight and extremely durable hybrid chassis made of titanium and adamantium. The core of the platform is based on solar-powered electric circuitry powered by the company’s new ‘Voivod’ fuel cell technology. 

Joyce said that Voivod fuel fells are designed to provide ample power under low light conditions and hold charge in temperatures in excess of -475 degree Celsius (-887 degrees Fahrenheit).

Dmitri Valchenko, spokesman for the Russian Aviation and Space Agency, said more details and information about the Voivod mission would be released in coming months.

Stay tuned for more info on the real Mars Rover!