It’s hard when your loved ones are away, but it’s what we all have phones, and Internet, and the social media for. You can talk to someone wherever they are – London, Melbourne, Rio de Janeiro, Toronto, or even at the Antarctic, but try communicating with space! Or at least this is what a 13-year-old girl from Texas tries to do.
A mission impossible, you would think, and you would be probably right, except that she’s not alone. Hyundai Motor actually found a way for her to stay in touch with her astronaut dad, who is on the International Space Station. There isn’t much in common between car making and astronomy, but it turns out that if an image – or a message in this case – is big enough, it could be seen from space. To be more specific – the message is huge, covering an area more than one and a half times that of New York City’s Central Park. Of course, very few things could be seen from space, especially if you are on the moon, let’s say, but the astronaut was indeed able to capture the message from his daughter on his camera. Amazing, isn’t it? You don’t know even half of it!
Stephanie is a 13-years-old girl from Houston, Texas, whose father is often away on missions for months at a time. He works as an astronaut at the International Space Station, which makes communication complex event if they have video calls and text messages – it’s never the same when you know you won’t see the other person’s face for another several months. And it’s probably even harder when you know your father isn’t even on the planet! Her message, delivered by 11 Genesis cars is not only giant, but it’s a touching, personal message, in big lettering, written in Stephanie’s own handwriting! And it’s a truly “out of this world” way to share her message.
The new campaign, entitled “A Message to Space” gathers experts from Europe, Korea, and the United States for this ambitious project. For this extremely difficult and complex task, the team had to identify the optimal location after analyzing global weather data, geographical and meteorological factors. So, they came up with the Delamar Dry Lake in the Nevada desert, which was used as a blank canvas. The clever and impressive stunt took 11 of Hyundai’s Genesis sedans, which created tracks in the sand that actually represent the huge letters. The enormous scale of this mission is just staggering. Measuring 5.55 sq. m., the creation was even officially recognized by the Guinness World Records as “the largest tire track image” ever.
Certainly, sending a handwritten message to space with Genesis cars wasn’t an easy challenge. But it shows that for a girl no distance can take her away from her father. For Hyundai, the campaign shows how creative the company actually is – you don’t have to promote cars as they are just a means of transportation. They can be much more – in this case, they accomplish the amazing feat of connecting an astronaut and his daughter in an impressive, emotional and really cool way. Not to mention how impossibly hard it must have been to synchronize 11 different cars, to find exceptional drivers, and to make sure Genesis is the right car for the job – having incredible engine performance, a proven powertrain, stability, and precise handling.
If you don’t believe the message can be viewed from outer space, just watch the amazing video about Stephanie and her heartfelt letter in the Nevada desert to her dad.
