ESA Puts €65M Behind Europe's First Lunar Ice Rover

ESA Awards ispace €65M Contract to Build and Deliver MAGPIE Rover to the Moon

Credit: ispace ESA has awarded a contract to Luxembourg-based ispace-Europe to complete the development of the MAGPIE lunar rover and deliver it to the surface of the Moon in 2029. The Mission for Advanced Geophysics and Polar Ice Exploration (MAGPIE) is being developed under ESA’s Small Missions for Exploration initiative. The rover will explore the Moon’s south pole, characterising volatile deposits and searching for water ice that could be us…

ispace-EUROPE lands €65 million ESA contract to deliver and operate MAGPIE, Europe’s first lunar polar ice exploration rover

ispace-EUROPE, a Luxembourg-based lunar exploration company focusing on the development of lunar rovers, has been awarded Phase 2 of the MAGPIE contract, the Mission for Advanced Geophysics and Polar Ice Exploration by the European Space Agency (ESA). The agreement represents ESA’s commitment to funding MAGPIE, Europe’s first lunar polar ice exploration rover and its flight. The contract, valued at €65 million, funds the full remaining delivery …

ESA Puts €65M Behind Europe's First Lunar Ice Rover

ispace-Europe is heading to the Moon following a €65M (~$74M) commitment from ESA for Europe’s first lunar polar ice exploration rover mission. The award is a Phase 2 contract for MAGPIE—the Mission for Advanced Geophysics and Polar Ice Exploration—which will fully fund the remaining development of the rover and payload as well as manufacturing, testing, transportation, lunar surface operations, and delivery of scientific data. “ispace-Europe is…