Hyundai is developing a lunar exploration rover that it hopes will one day be deployed on the surface of the Moon. And no, it isn’t still April Fool’s Day.
The plan is to have a working prototype ready to test by the second half of next year, and it hopes a model will be ready for an actual mission by 2027.
Um, why? Well, the company signed an agreement with six South Korean aerospace research groups last year, and the decision was taken that this should be the first project.
The rover will use tech from both Hyundai and Kia (related brands, remember), with both chipping in cameras and LIDAR for autonomous driving capabilities; motor, wheels and suspension for the driving system, and solar panels and batteries for lunar charging.
You’re not looking at the beginnings of an i30 N-inspired buggy though: this rover will be designed to carry scientific equipment that’ll help astronauts with digging and excavation, among other things.
Thermal management and radiation shielding will allow the rover to operate in the extreme conditions of the lunar surface, and it’s expected to weigh in at around 70kg.
“Hyundai Motor Group has consistently stated its goal is to contribute to expanding human reach and the scope of human mobility experiences,” said executive vice president Yong Wha Kim. “The creation of the lunar exploration mobility development model not only reflects this goal, but also shows our ambition to achieve tangible results in the face of significant challenges. With the rover’s development, we are moving beyond land, sea and air mobility to expand into space mobility.”
When the prototype is ready testing will take place somewhere ‘similar to the Moon’s surface’, and ‘the plan is to land the rover near the south pole area of the moon to carry out various scientific missions.’
All that’s needed now is a rocket to get there. Maybe by 2027 Elon Musk will have figured out how to stop Starship exploding…
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