ispace-EUROPE secures €65 million ESA contract for MAGPIE, Europe’s first lunar polar ice exploration rover
Luxembourg-based ispace-EUROPE has been awarded the Phase 2 contract by the European Space Agency for the MAGPIE mission, which will be Europe's first rover to explore polar ice on the Moon. The €65 million agreement covers the full development, manufacturing, testing, delivery, and operation of the rover.
ispace-EUROPE, a lunar exploration company headquartered in Luxembourg, has won the second phase of the MAGPIE contract from the European Space Agency (ESA). This commitment funds MAGPIE – Europe's first rover designed to investigate water ice at the Moon's poles. The €65 million contract covers the remaining work for the entire MAGPIE mission, including rover and payload development, manufacturing, testing, transport to the lunar surface, and surface operations.
MAGPIE will explore the Moon's south polar region to advance scientific understanding of volatiles, water ice stability, and regolith properties, while also supporting future resource prospecting for sustained lunar exploration. Julien-Alexandre Lamamy, CEO of ispace-EUROPE, stated that MAGPIE represents a major milestone for European lunar exploration, combining commercial delivery, scientific ambition, and international collaboration. He emphasized that ispace-EUROPE is proud to lead the full delivery of the mission.
ispace-EUROPE is part of the global ispace, inc., which has operations in Japan, Luxembourg, the United States, and Saudi Arabia. The company previously built the first European-designed, manufactured, and assembled lunar rover – TENACIOUS – which flew on ispace's Mission 2. The MAGPIE contract was awarded after ispace-EUROPE successfully completed the mission's Design Prototype Review.
Phase 2 began on 1 July 2026, marking the start of full mission development. The next key milestone is the Structural Thermal Model Manufacturing Readiness Review. Under the contract, ispace-EUROPE serves as the mission prime, responsible for mission design, science objectives, rover development, payload integration, and mission operations. It will work closely with ESA and the MAGPIE consortium, delivering both the mission platform and scientific data.
Sophia Casanova, Senior Lunar Exploration Scientist at ispace-EUROPE, will act as Principal Investigator for MAGPIE. Sara Pastor, ESA Lunar Programme Manager, commented that MAGPIE exemplifies ESA's commitment to ambitious exploration through rapid-development missions and international cooperation. She highlighted the growing collaboration between ESA and JAXA in lunar exploration, combining complementary capabilities.
MAGPIE is scheduled to launch in 2029 aboard ispace's Mission 4 lunar lander. Transportation is enabled by cooperation between ESA and JAXA, merging European scientific goals with Japanese-funded lunar transport. In January 2026, ispace was selected by JAXA for its "High Precision Landing Technology in the Lunar Polar Regions" project under the second phase of Japan's Space Strategy Fund, which will be implemented on Mission 4.
