ispace-EUROPE has received a €65 million contract from the European Space Agency to complete the development, launch and operation of MAGPIE, Europe’s first lunar rover designed to explore polar ice.
The Phase 2 contract covers the remaining delivery of the mission, including development of the rover and scientific instruments, manufacturing, testing, transportation to the Moon and lunar surface operations.
MAGPIE stands for Mission for Advanced Geophysics and Polar Ice Exploration.
The rover will study the Moon’s south polar region to improve scientific understanding of lunar volatiles, the stability of water ice and the characteristics of lunar regolith.
Volatiles are substances such as water that can evaporate or transform under relatively low temperatures. Scientists believe deposits in permanently shadowed areas near the lunar poles may contain water ice and other materials that could support future exploration.
Regolith is the layer of loose rock, dust and fragmented material covering the Moon’s surface.
Understanding the location and accessibility of lunar water could support future human missions by providing a potential local source of drinking water, oxygen and hydrogen-based fuel.
ispace-EUROPE will serve as the mission’s prime contractor. The company will lead mission design, development of the scientific objectives, construction of the rover, integration of its payloads and mission operations.
The company will also be responsible for delivering the scientific data collected by MAGPIE to ESA.
Sophia Casanova, Senior Lunar Exploration Scientist at ispace-EUROPE, will serve as the mission’s principal investigator.
The Phase 2 award follows the completion of MAGPIE’s Design Prototype Review. Full mission development began on July 1, 2026, with the project progressing toward a review assessing readiness to manufacture the structural and thermal model.
MAGPIE is scheduled to travel to the Moon aboard ispace’s Mission 4 lunar lander in 2029.
The transportation arrangement is supported by cooperation between ESA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency.
JAXA selected ispace in January 2026 to implement a high-precision landing technology project for the Moon’s polar regions through Japan’s Space Strategy Fund. That technology will be used during Mission 4.
The arrangement combines European scientific and rover-development capabilities with Japanese-funded lunar transportation technology.
ESA described MAGPIE as a new model for smaller and more rapidly developed exploration missions involving government agencies, scientific institutions and commercial space companies.
Luxembourg-based ispace-EUROPE previously developed TENACIOUS, described by the company as the first European-designed, manufactured and assembled lunar rover to launch into space.
ispace operates across Japan, Luxembourg, the United States and Saudi Arabia and employs more than 300 people. Its broader business develops lunar landers, rovers and orbital transportation systems.
KEY QUOTES:
“MAGPIE represents a major step forward for European lunar exploration. 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.”
“ispace-EUROPE is proud to lead the full delivery of MAGPIE, from mission design and rover development through to lunar surface operations and delivery of science data to ESA.”
Julien-Alexandre Lamamy, CEO of ispace-EUROPE
“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.”
“The mission also reflects the growing cooperation between ESA and JAXA in lunar exploration, combining complementary capabilities to address common exploration challenges.”
Sara Pastor, Lunar Programme Manager at the European Space Agency
