Hyundai Motor and Kia signed research agreements with six Korean research institutes to develop ‘Lunar Surface Exploration Mobility’. The companies stated on 27 July that their robotics capabilities would allow them to deliver the project, and that it would build on Korea’s growing national space programme.
A spokesperson for the companies said, “With no air, extreme temperatures and countless craters and coatings of lunar dust composed of sharp and abrasive particles, the moon’s surface is an exceptionally harsh environment.
“While it poses significant challenges to the development of surface exploration mobility, it also provides the ultimate proving ground and will deliver invaluable lessons for Hyundai and Kia to further accelerate the delivery of smart and sustainable mobility solutions on earth.”
Work was expected to begin on the project in August. Space News reported that the six partner institutions were:
- Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI)
- Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI)
- Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute (KASI)
- Korea Automotive Technology Institute (KATECH)
- Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology (KICT)
- Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI)
Space News also speculated that there might be significance in Hyundai’s acquisition of a controlling stake in the robotic dog company Boston Dynamics, and a December 2020 suggestion by Nasa scientists that a robot dog might be more capable of navigating treacherous caves and terrain on Mars than a rover.
