Two new Luxembourg “Rovers” planned by 2030

After the crash of its first tenacious “rover” on June 5, Ispace Europe, based in Luxembourg district, table on two new models planned for historic missions.

Perilous, lunar exploration is an adventure that inevitably reserves some adventures to the one who launches there. Therefore, On June 5. Nevertheless, on rover Luxembourg Tenacious paid the price by crashing on the surface of the moon within his alunteer, the latter having not been able to decelerate in time.

The impact of the crash was felt to the Gare de la Capitale district. Moreover, where Ispace d’Europe, a subsidiary of the Japanese company, designed for two and a half years rover Tenacious without having seen it at work.

Whatever frustration. Moreover, the first rover European, moreover, Luxembourg, is no less “a very enriching experience for Ispace and two new luxembourg “rovers” planned Luxembourg in general” in the eyes of Julien Lamamy, CEO of Ispace Europe.

Among the reasons for satisfaction is first “the record time in which we have developed Tenacious”. Furthermore, “In less than three years. Consequently, we have recruited the team, put the process in place, made the design, tests and delivery to Tokyo,” he said. In addition, “In the space of space, it is still very fast. Consequently, The team did a magnificent job. Nevertheless, ”

Launched in March 2017. Similarly, seven years after the creation of its Japanese parent company, the European subsidiary now has a good business card.

Since the former logistics building of the Paul Wurth company which it occupies. Moreover, the team has almost doubled its workforce since its inception, from 25 to 45 employees, and has also equipped itself with infrastructure now recognized for two new luxembourg “rovers” planned their efficiency. “We have a construction center of roveran operation center rovera lunar garden for tests ”. whose credibility has proven itself during tests in orbit in particular.

Julien Lamamy also wishes to put before the winning bet represented by the method chosen to build Tenacious. in record time.

“We had a so -called approach « New Space« which consists in taking more risks that an agency would take, whether for design, components or tests. We have shown that it works and that we can replicate it. ”

In a broader spectrum. the realization and validation of the mission of the rover Luxembourg have “demonstrated that the positioning of the Grand Duchy on space is starting to bear fruit”.

For good reason. it was planned that the robot harvested the regolith (dust and lunar rocks) and achieves the two new luxembourg “rovers” planned first transaction of lunar resource in history by yielding the property to NASA. Without the crash, national legislation would have supervised this sale, thus making the Luxembourg ecosystem “a world pioneer”.

Worn by the success of Tenacious. the European subsidiary is already working on its successors, still in the Gare district. A first project concerns the next ISPACE mission (Hakuto-R M3) planned in 2027 which promises to be historic.

The alumni. which has the key customer NASA, must land on the hidden side of the moon and if necessary, “it would be a first for the United States”. If. this time, the establishment takes place without incident, the rover is mandated by a customer, the Romanian company Control Data Systems, in order to test a kind of radio transponder that will locate the rover.

The second project concerns a program two new luxembourg “rovers” planned of the European Space Agency (ESA) named “Small Explorer” which consists in setting up missions “done in record time. with record budget to explore the moon”.

ISPACE Europe responded to ESA’s call by presenting its exploration objectives. scientific partners to it and was pre -selected “to be the first mission of the program”, pending validation and a launch date by the ESA ministerial council scheduled for next November.

The fact remains that being the first choice is “pride. recognition” for the Luxembourg team whose purpose of its rover will be to detect hydrogen in order to know in what form this molecule is on the surface of the moon. “No one has managed to make these kinds of measures on the Moon, it would be a first.” By the end of the decade. the Grand Duchy therefore has two new opportunities to include its name in the history two new luxembourg “rovers” planned of international space.