As part of its LightShip initiative, the European Space Agency has chosen four consortia to conduct parallel studies to define small, low-cost Mars satellite platforms.
The ESA Mars LightShip tug is a proposed interplanetary transfer service that will ferry satellites to Mars orbit. With this initiative, ESA aims to reduce the cost of mounting a mission to Mars while also expanding access to the Red Planet. After delivering its payloads, the tug will transition to a secondary role as a dedicated data relay service.
On 21 January, ESA announced the selection of consortia led by Argotec, Deimos Space, Politecnico di Milano in collaboration with SITAEL, and Redwire to explore potential passenger spacecraft platforms for LightShip. According to the agency, the four studies are funded through the “Preparation” element of its Basic Activities domain, which lays the groundwork for ESA’s short- to medium-term future activities.
The four independent studies will not look at specific payloads but rather at potential satellite platforms that could be utilized for a wide range of applications.
“Normally, we look at the whole mission, which makes this study a little unusual – this time we are only focusing on the platform, without any payload,” said Claire Parfitt, Mars Exploration Study Team Lead in ESA’s Directorate of Human and Robotic Exploration. “That’s because we really want to understand what the small and low-cost platform capabilities are in Europe and how they need to be modified for the Mars environment.”
What’s next for LightShip?
The LightShip initiative is currently in the feasibility and definition stage. According to the agency, this project is part of the industrial Phase A/B1 development phase for the interplanetary space tug. The studies will also be used to begin investigating full exploration mission concepts in 2026.
A decision on whether or not to proceed with the full development of LightShip will be made during ESA’s Ministerial Council meeting later this year. If approved, the agency expects to launch the first LightShip mission by 2032.
