iSpace-EUROPE Secures €65 Million ESA Contract for MAGPIE: Europe’s Leading Lunar Ice Exploration Rover

ispace-EUROPE Awarded Phase 2 of MAGPIE Contract by ESA

ispace-EUROPE, a Luxembourg-based lunar exploration company specializing in lunar rovers, has been granted Phase 2 of the MAGPIE contract by the European Space Agency (ESA). This contract, valued at €65 million, is for the Mission for Advanced Geophysics and Polar Ice Exploration.

The agreement signifies ESA’s commitment to funding MAGPIE, Europe’s premier lunar polar ice exploration rover, and its mission. The contract covers the complete remaining delivery of the MAGPIE mission, including rover and payload development, manufacturing, testing, transportation to the lunar surface, and lunar surface operations. MAGPIE will explore the Moon’s south polar region, advancing scientific knowledge of lunar volatiles, water ice stability, and regolith properties, while also supporting future resource prospecting for lunar exploration.

Julien-Alexandre Lamamy, CEO of ispace-EUROPE, stated, “MAGPIE represents a significant advancement for European lunar exploration. This contract award showcases ESA’s dedication to a new model for small, agile exploration missions that combines commercial delivery, scientific ambition, and international collaboration.”

“ispace-EUROPE is proud to lead the complete delivery of MAGPIE, from mission design and rover development to lunar surface operations and providing science data to ESA. This mission is instrumental in helping Europe establish operational capabilities on the Moon,” Lamamy added.

ispace-EUROPE is the European entity of ispace, inc, the global lunar exploration company. The company has business entities in Japan, Luxembourg, the United States, and Saudi Arabia, with over 300 employees worldwide.

ispace-EUROPE was responsible for the first-ever European-designed, manufactured, and assembled lunar rover launched into space; the TENACIOUS rover aboard ispace inc.’s Mission 2.

The company highlighted that the award follows the completion of MAGPIE’s Design Prototype Review. Phase 2 started on July 1, 2026, marking the beginning of full mission development, with immediate work towards the next major milestone, the Structural Thermal Model Manufacturing Readiness Review.

Under the contract terms, ispace-EUROPE will lead as mission prime, overseeing mission design, science objectives development, rover development, payload integration, and mission operations.

ispace-EUROPE emphasized that it will closely collaborate with ESA and the MAGPIE consortium, delivering an innovative surface mission that includes mission design, rover platform, mission operations, and scientific data retrieval. Sophia Casanova, Senior Lunar Exploration Scientist at ispace-EUROPE, will serve as Principal Investigator for MAGPIE.

Sara Pastor, ESA Lunar Programme Manager, commented, “MAGPIE exemplifies ESA’s commitment to achieving ambitious exploration goals through innovative, rapid-development missions and strong international cooperation. By exploring and characterizing volatile deposits in the lunar polar regions and searching for water ice to support a sustained human presence on the Moon, MAGPIE will provide crucial knowledge for the next phase of lunar exploration.”

“The mission also signifies the growing collaboration between ESA and JAXA in lunar exploration, combining complementary capabilities to address common exploration challenges. Through leading industrial and scientific organizations across Europe, ispace with MAGPIE showcases how ESA’s small missions for exploration can accelerate the development of valuable scientific and technological capabilities while enhancing Europe’s contribution to a sustainable future on the Moon,” Pastor added.

MAGPIE is set to fly aboard ispace’s Mission 4 lunar lander in 2029. In January 2026, ispace was chosen by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) to execute its proposal for the “High Precision Landing Technology in the Lunar Polar Regions” project under the second phase of Japan’s Space Strategy Fund. The technology will be implemented by ispace’s Mission 4.

Enabled through collaboration between ESA and JAXA, the transportation of the MAGPIE mission on ispace Mission 4 merges European scientific goals with Japanese-funded lunar transportation capabilities.