Tokyo, Japan - The Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency has teamed up with a toy maker to develop its next lunar robotic rover. The size of a baseball, the transforming robot will be quite the cute space explorer.

As reported by Engadget, a magical collaboration between the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and beloved Japanese toy-maker TOMY has resulted in the creation of a fascinating transformable robot set to explore the moon.

By using the toy company's expertise in small, moveable parts, as well as the help of Doshisha University, and aid from Sony, the robot will be much more transportable.

The bot, which is the size of a baseball, will land on the moon balled up. Its lightweight frame will expand out once it has touched down and it will use two in-built wheels for navigating the cratered surface.

According to JAXA, the robot "is expected to play active roles in future lunar exploration missions as well."

The Chairman and CEO of the Tomy Company said, "Since the foundation, we have been making toys with safe and reliable quality, a spirit of craftsmanship to pay attention to details, flexible imagination, and above all, a strong will to make children smile. I sincerely hope that we will make use of them in this space exploration opportunity and make children to be more interested in natural science including space."

Producing replica robot toys for children (and a few adults) here on earth would certainly be an incentive to help the next generation pursue careers in the sciences.

JAXA also said it will continue to work toward a goal of returning humans to the moon by collaborating with more commercial companies, which will hopefully produce equally fun results.