Composed of three separate modules and 12 wheels, ArtCenter College of Design senior Omar Rehman’s segmented Mars land train was shown off at ArtCenter’s annual grad show. The three separate modules all had their own purpose — the front module for the astronauts and collecting geological samples, the middle to process the samples and the remaining module gathers the remains of obsolete rovers to retrieve them.
This Mars land train’s purpose is to create infrastructure in order to live between two planets. It would be designed and developed on Earth and launched from Earth. This concept would be proposed with the help of existing raw materials of previous flight vehicles and be accompanied by other sustainable resources found on Mars. The land train would consist of three different modules.
“It’s like a huge Mars dump truck,” Rehman said.
Since a young age, Omar Rehman always knew he had an interest in cars, especially from riding around in his father’s 1984 Toyota Celica Supra. Even as a child, Rehman would sketch out cars and add his own unique elements, such as experimenting with the car’s physique. His fascination for vehicles soon became an obsession.
Pasadena City College (PCC) was only the beginning of Rehman’s career journey. He attended PCC from 2012 to 2013 and graduated with his Associate’s Degree in Communication Arts. After taking a break from school for a couple of years, Rehman attended ArtCenter College of Design from 2015 to 2019, recently graduating with his Bachelor’s Degree in Transportation Design.
Rehman left his mark at ArtCenter with his senior project, “NASA Recovery”. He gained influence from his time as an intern at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), creating a large scale Mars land train.
“A modular Mars ground salvage vehicle…will enable humankind to further explore and expand our knowledge of the red planet and ourselves,” Rehman said in his thesis statement.
Omar Rehman’s rover model at the Center for the Arts.
Some motivation behind this creation is to prevent humanity from going extinct. For that, interplanetary habitation would have to start on the closest planet (Mars).
The next goal on the red planet would be the search for life. If there is life, then there is a future. The framework of these vehicles and technology would come from human-centered design.
The launch would take place in 2036 and land 450 days later, by the year 2037.
“The project was really unique for a number of reasons,” faculty advisor and ArtCenter alumni, Douglas Frasher said. “Omar’s a very broad thinker and the JPL internship was a fantastic opportunity for him.”
Frasher’s job was to ensure the students in his class applied everything they’ve learned throughout the last 3 years to their project. Frasher describes Rehman as hard working, even tempered and that he contains excitement for the future.
“There’s nothing I can say negative about Omar,” Frasher added.
Not only has Rehman had the honor of working at JPL, but he has also had the opportunity to share his talent and gain more experience with companies such as: Hot Wheels, the CARLAB, SnugTOP and others. More of Rehman’s innovative designs can be found in his portfolio.
Now that he is a graduate, he intends on finding a job that involves working with vehicles, ecosystems or anything that helps with mobility.
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