ispace EUROPE, a lunar exploration and resources development company based in Luxembourg, has signed an extension to its Pre-Phase A contract with the European Space Agency (ESA) that further funds the Mission for Advanced Geophysics and Polar Ice Exploration (MAGPIE).
The agreement comes in the context of the Small Missions for Exploration initiative launched by ESA. This initiative called for innovative and short-term mission ideas for lunar exploration. ispace’s MAGPIE concept was selected and awarded a pre-phase A contract on Dec. 12, 2024. Under the Phase 1 extension agreement, ispace-EUROPE will collaborate with ESA on the implementation of the lunar exploration mission. In aggregate, the value of the contracts for the two phases is €2,695,000 (approximately JPY 437 million).
The Mission for Advanced Geophysics and Polar Ice Exploration (MAGPIE) aims to explore and characterize volatile deposits in lunar polar regions and search for water ice. ispace-EUROPE is leading the consortium involved in the mission including: the Technical University of Munich (Germany), the Center of Space Sensors and Systems from the University of Oslo (Norway), KP Labs (Poland), the Institute of Experimental and Applied Physics from the Czech Technical University (Czech Republic), and the Open University (United Kingdom).
This agreement marks a significant step toward involving more diverse European players in lunar exploration. ispace and ESA’s collaboration on MAGPIE will be the first ESA-led surface exploration mission on the Moon. By increasing the scientific knowledge of the lunar permafrost regions, MAGPIE will take Europe a step closer to developing resource utilization and surface operations, as set out in ESA’s Terrae Novae roadmap and 2040 strategy. The work under this Phase 1 agreement will also contribute to ESA’s participation in international lunar programs.
“We are excited to work with ESA in laying the groundwork for Europe’s future lunar endeavors,” said Julien-Alexandre Lamamy, CEO at ispace-EUROPE. “This contract shows the critical role that commercial partners like ispace play in shaping the next era of space exploration and science.”
ispace-EUROPE is at the forefront of lunar exploration, having launched TENACIOUS, the first European rover to go to the Moon in January 2025, onboard ispace’s Mission 2. ESA holds an important role in M2 as it is contracted by ispace for the use of the Estrack global ground station network. ESA’s tracking stations are being used to transmit commands to the RESILIENCE lander and to receive data and status information from the spacecraft.
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