Hyundai Motor Group has mastered the highways and byways on land and has even based an organization to make electrical air autos that can take to the sky.

Now, Hyundai and Kia purpose to slide the surly bonds of Earth.

The South Korean automakers mentioned final week that they will collaborate with a bunch of analysis institutes to develop “mobility options” for the moon.

Consultations are anticipated to carry off as early as this month and draw from the group’s robotics experience. Efforts will give attention to exploration gear, software program and distant communication.

The automakers didn’t provide specifics in regards to the imaginative and prescient, resembling a timeline for touchdown on the moon or whether or not a rover is perhaps human-driven or remote-controlled.

The announcement follows South Korea’s launch of a domestically produced rocket in June.

“We’ll broaden the scope of human motion expertise past conventional technique of transport and past the bounds of Earth to additional contribute to the progress of humankind and assist create a greater future,” Yong Wha Kim, head of the R&D Planning & Coordination Middle for Hyundai Motor and Kia, mentioned in a press release.

The automakers mentioned there may be a lot to be taught from creating autos for the cruel moonscape — a rugged regolith rocked by excessive temperatures and bombarded by radiation.

“Whereas it poses important challenges to the event of floor exploration mobility, it additionally gives the last word proving floor and can ship invaluable classes for Hyundai and Kia to additional speed up the supply of good and sustainable mobility options on earth,” the assertion mentioned.

Hyundai Motor Group will not be alone in its extraterrestrial ambitions.

Toyota Motor Corp. mentioned in 2019 that it will discover its personal moon mobility. Its idea — a six-wheeled, pressurized, hydrogen-powered moon rover — is named the Lunar Cruiser.