Hyundai writes message large enough to be seen from International Space Station

A fleet of 11 Hyundai Genesis sedans has etched out the world’s largest tyre track image: a message from a daughter to her astronaut father aboard the International Space Station.

To make the simple message “Steph [hearts] you” visible from space, Hyundai assembled a multinational team from the US, Europe and Korea comprising cinematographers, drivers, surveyors, technicians, and support staff.

Firstly, the team had to find a canvas that was large, desolate, still and arid enough to house something that could be seen from around 300km above the surface of the Earth. After scouting various locations, the crew decided on the Delamar Dry Lake in southern Nevada.

After the company scanned in and enlarged a handwritten note from Stephanie to her dad, it spent several weeks mapping out the image via GPS markers. After waypoints were placed and a preliminary outline laid out on the lake bed, it was up to the drivers and cinematographers to not only create the image, but also capture the process for the resultant ad campaign.

To draw the letters and heart thick enough to be seen from space, the driving team used a fleet of 11 Hyundai Genesis sedans equipped with specially studded tyres.

Driving in formation, the cars created a message that covered an area of 5.55 square kilometres or about one-and-half-times the size of New York City’s Central Park.

The process was certified by Guinness World Records on January 18, 2015 as the “world’s largest tyre track image”. According to The Verge, Stephanie’s astronaut father isn’t named because NASA has strict rules about promoting or endorsing any commercial product.