ispace-EUROPE Wins $74 Million ESA Contract for Europe’s First Lunar Polar Rover

ispace-EUROPE has been awarded a €65 million Phase 2 contract from the European Space Agency - ESA to develop and deliver the MAGPIE mission, Europe’s first lunar polar ice exploration rover.

The contract funds the full development of the mission, including rover and payload manufacturing, testing, transportation to the lunar surface, and mission operations.

MAGPIE will explore the Moon’s south pole region to study water ice, lunar volatiles, and regolith properties, supporting future resource utilization and long-term lunar exploration.

As the mission prime contractor, ispace-EUROPE will oversee mission design, rover development, payload integration, science operations, and delivery of scientific data to ESA.

The award follows the successful completion of the mission’s Design Prototype Review, with full-scale development now underway.

MAGPIE is scheduled to launch aboard ispace’s Mission 4 lunar lander in 2029.

The mission will leverage high-precision lunar landing technology developed under a separate project funded by the JAXA: Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency.

Sara Pastor, ESA Lunar Programme Manager said “By exploring and characterising volatile deposits in the lunar polar regions and searching for water ice that could support a sustained human presence on the Moon, MAGPIE will provide critical knowledge for the next phase of lunar exploration.”

Image Credits: ispace.inc