Well this is a pretty cool little story. The new Moonrover Audi Lunar Quattro, the real piece of advanced technology scheduled to land on the moon next year in order explore and analyse what happened to pre-existing rovers, is also currently being used in the new Alien: Covenant film.
Don't believe us? Then check out this video:
Yep, that's the Moonrover Audi Lunar Quattro in one of the neatest pieces of product/brand placement we've ever seen. Far from the rover being just a piece of excellent science fiction, and a damn cool prop in its own right, it is actually a fully functioning, high-tech piece of real world engineering set to actually blast off to Earth's moon in 2018.
Here is the lead engineer on the project, as well CEO and founder of Part-Time Scientists, Robert Böhme, talking about the Lunar Quattro and its real mission:
Indeed, the Moonrover Audi Lunar Quattro is a really advanced piece of technology. Not only is it super light weight, with it constructed from 85 per cent aluminium (Audi's engineering nous helped reduce the weight of the final vehicle by 23 per cent), but it also features easily replicable 3D-printed components, and a 60-degree pivoting 100W solar panel that supplies it with energy and powers its super-efficient e-tron motor.
These features and more will help the Lunar Quattro navigate the moon's surface, take readings and record information, as well as operate for lengthy periods of time in a challenging atmosphere.
Interestingly, in Alien: Covenant the Moonrover is also deployed to help navigate and assess the challenging, unknown terrain of a new planet. However, in the fiction, the machine also has the ability to detect alien lifeforms - which here at T3 Towers we're guessing it does with dramatic results!
Lead image credit: Joe McGorty
