Grand Theft Pluto? GTA 5 space mod brings interstellar travel to Rockstar's classic

Grand Theft Auto 5's huge open-world is about to get even bigger with a new mod that hopes to take the series into space.

While mysterious rumblings of alien invasions and UFOs are nothing new to Rockstar's opus, actually heading into space for yourself has always been one giant leap away for players. This could be all about to change thanks to modder "sollaholla" and the work-in-progress "Grand Theft Space" mod.

Officially announced around six months ago, the mod has gained attention thanks to a spectacular teaser trailer (embedded below) which shows players blasting off into space in a rocket, fighting against aliens with laser weapons on the surface of a planet, and even approaching a swirling wormhole which bears a striking resemblance to scenes from 2015 sci-fi epic, Interstellar.

"The earth has been alone in this galaxy since the very moment it was formed, but far far away in another galaxy, there was intelligent life peering at the people of earth for a millennium," reads a synopsis for the mod.

"This life was not the friendly life we would like to believe. The NASA research team have found remnants of alien spaceship parts scattered around the state of San Andreas. We never thought that these intelligent life-forms would ever reach our planet; but they're coming and they're not on our side. It's your mission to take out these alien scum before they reach earth."

The modder, who previously co-created a popular mod bringing web-slinging superhero Spider-Man into GTA 5, has promised that, once released, Grand Theft Space will include four missions filled with planet exploration and combat, as well as the ability to explore planets outside of our solar system.

Writing during the announcement of the project, sollaholla said "I've heard little rumblings in the past of people wanting to make space mods. I've seen map-editor satellites, and space ship looking vehicles, the whole 9 yards. But nobody seems to have ever made it so you can actually go in space,"

"So I said, "Screw it, I'm gonna make a space mod.""

No release date has been set for the user-made cosmic expansion, but you can follow its progress here.