We've all suffered at the hands of remote controlled cars that are never as much fun as we imagine they’re going to be.
You get one for Christmas, take it down the park, get a bit carried away and before you know it, you've flipped it over on its roof or driven it into a pond.
But what if you could control a lunar rover across the actual surface of the moon?
Oh yes – now you’re paying attention, aren't you?
A new plan has been hatched that would allow anyone to remotely pilot a moon rover using an Oculus Rift virtual reality headset.
It's all thanks to three scientists from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, who are aiming for a $30 million prize from Google offered to any team that can send video back from the moon.
The Lunar X Prize, to give it its full and proper name, requires a team to land a robot up there, move it 500m and send back video to Earth.
Simple, eh?
Daniel Shafrir, 22, who is part of the three-man team, told MailOnline: “The vision for the demo was simple: let anyone on Earth experience the moon live through the eyes of a robot”.
“Put the headset on and you look to your left, you see the vast expanse of the moon. You look right and you see home. You're looking to see what it's really like on the moon.”
It’s been almost 42 years since a human footprint was left on the surface of the moon and the scientific trio are aiming to revive public interest in our mysterious sky-dwelling night friend.
