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 used to support a sustained human presence on the Moon.
On 24 July, ispace announced that its European subsidiary had been awarded a €65 million contract covering the remaining development of the rover and its payloads, manufacturing and testing, transportation to the lunar surface, surface operations, and the delivery of scientific data to ESA.
“MAGPIE represents a major step forward for European lunar exploration,” said ispace-Europe CEO Julien-Alexandre Lamamy. “This contract award demonstrates ESA’s commitment to a new model for small, agile exploration missions – one that combines commercial delivery, scientific ambition and international collaboration.”
The mission is being developed under ESA’s Small Missions for Exploration initiative. The agency had previously said that missions developed under this initiative should target a total cost of €50 million. With the award of a MAGPIE Phase 2 contract worth €65 million, the mission has now exceeded that original cost target by some margin. ESA did not respond to questions about this discrepancy before publication.
The commencement of Phase 2 of the mission’s development comes after ispace-Europe completed a Design Prototype Review. While the contract announcement was made on 24 July, the company confirmed that work on Phase 2 had kicked off on 1 July, almost a month earlier.
With work on the mission now underway, the company has said that its next major milestone is the Structural Thermal Model Manufacturing Readiness Review.
MAGPIE is currently expected to launch in 2029. It will be carried to the lunar surface aboard ispace’s Mission 4 lunar lander. ispace will receive up to ¥20 billion (€107 million) over approximately five years through Japan’s Space Strategy Fund to support the mission’s development.
