Luxembourg-based ispace-EUROPE has been awarded €65m by the European Space Agency (ESA) for Phase 2 of the Mission for Advanced Geophysics and Polar Ice Exploration (MAGPIE) contract, covering Europe’s first lunar polar ice exploration rover and its flight.
MAGPIE will investigate the Moon’s south polar region, advancing scientific understanding of lunar volatiles, water ice stability and regolith properties while supporting future resource prospecting to enable lunar exploration.
“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,” said Julien-Alexandre Lamamy, CEO of ispace-EUROPE.
The funds should cover the full remaining delivery of the MAGPIE mission, including rover and payload development, manufacture, testing, transportation to the lunar surface and lunar surface operations.
Under the contract, ispace-EUROPE will serve as mission prime, leading mission design, science objectives development, rover development, payload integration and mission operations. Working in close partnership with ESA and the MAGPIE consortium, ispace-EUROPE will deliver an innovative surface mission, providing not only the mission design, rover platform and mission operations but also the scientific data returned from the mission. Sophia Casanova, Senior Lunar Exploration Scientist at ispace-EUROPE, will serve as Principal Investigator for MAGPIE.
MAGPIE is scheduled to fly aboard ispace’s Mission 4 lunar lander in 2029. In January 2026, ispace was selected by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) to implement 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, transportation of the MAGPIE mission on ispace Mission 4 combines European scientific objectives with Japanese-funded lunar transportation capabilities, demonstrating a new model for international cooperation in lunar exploration.
“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. Bringing together leading industrial and scientific organisations from across Europe, ispace with MAGPIE demonstrates how ESA’s small missions for exploration can accelerate the development of high-value scientific and technological capabilities while strengthening Europe’s contribution to a sustainable future on the Moon,” said Sara Pastor, ESA Lunar Programme Manager.
