As part of its expansion into the space industry, the largest automaker group in the world announced on Tuesday that a Toyota (7203.T) research unit will invest in Japanese startup Interstellar Technologies (IST) to facilitate mass production of its rockets.

According to IST, by the time its Series F funding closes, Woven by Toyota, a Toyota subsidiary that is constructing a “city of the future” in Japan using autonomous driving technology, will have invested roughly 7 billion yen ($44.4 million) in IST.

According to IST’s release, “Woven will appoint a director to IST’s board as part of the capital and business tie-up and support rocket production by strengthening supply chains and corporate governance,” opens a new tab.

The news followed remarks made by Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda on Monday at the CES trade event in Las Vegas, where he provided updates on the company’s 2020-announced experimental Woven City project.

“The future of mobility shouldn’t be limited to just Earth, or just one car company,” Toyoda stated. “Speaking of the sky, we’re exploring rockets, too.”

In addition to launchers, Toyota and Japan’s space agency are constructing a lunar rover for the NASA-led Artemis program that can transport humans to the moon’s surface.

Over the past ten years, Elon Musk’s rocket and satellite company SpaceX has been at the forefront of the commercial race for space.

Although its orbital launcher, Zero, is still in development, the Hokkaido-based IST became the first Japanese company to launch a commercially built rocket into space in 2019.

Last month, IST’s rival Space One made an unsuccessful effort to launch its orbital rocket Kairos for a second time.

By the early 2030s, the Japanese government hopes to establish Japan as Asia’s space hub with 30 rocket launches per year and an 8 trillion yen space economy, supporting businesses like Space One and IST with subsidies.