A few years ago the closest that designers came to space would be designing props for Hollywood sets. Now, in parallel with successful launches by private enterprises including Virgin Galactic and Space Adventures, a new context for designers has emerged. On 15th April 2010, US president Barack Obama predicted his new space exploration plans would lead American astronauts to Mars and back in his lifetime, a bold forecast relying on rockets and propulsion systems yet to be imagined and built. “By the mid-2030s, I believe we can send humans to orbit Mars and return them safely to Earth and a landing on Mars will follow.” Predicted space travel towards the Moon and Mars is forcing space agencies and private companies to design, realise and test pressurised surface rovers to host astronauts during planetary missions. This is an extreme environment for combining innovation, design, automotive and engineering skills as ‘space design’. Designing for space requires clever simulation and mapping skills to understand the environmental design parameters, both physical and psychological. We can never experience these effects on Earth so our imagination provides a powerful design tool.