6 Jun, 2024
Assembly of the Micro Rover Flight Model is underway at ispace EUROPE
LUXEMBOURG – June 06, 2024 –ispace EUROPE S.A., the Luxembourg-based subsidiary of ispace, inc., welcomed His Royal Highness the Grand Duke of Luxembourg, accompanied by the Minister of the Economy, SME, Energy and Tourism, Lex Delles, Tadahiro Matsubara, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan in Luxembourg, and Deputy CEO of the Luxembourg Space Agency, Mathias Link, to ispace EUROPE office on June 4, 2024, to observe the development progress of the company’s lunar micro rover.
Julien-Alexandre Lamamy, CEO of ispace EUROPE explains about the development progress of Micro Rover to visitors from left Deputy CEO of the Luxembourg Space Agency, Mathias Link, Minister of the Economy, SME, Energy and Tourism, Lex Delles, HRH the Grand Duke of Luxembourg, and Tadahiro Matsubara, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan in Luxembourg
ispace EUROPE located in Luxembourg opened in March 2017, under a cooperative agreement with the Government of Luxembourg’s SpaceResource.lu initiative, part of its national space strategy, which aims to make Luxembourg a European hub for space resource exploration and utilization.
Julien-Alexandre Lamamy, CEO of ispace EUROPE received the guests and escorted HRH the Grand Duke of Luxembourg and Government Officials to the manufacturing lab to witness the assembly of the actual rover flight model. After its expected completion of the integration and testing activity this summer, the rover will be transferred from Luxembourg to Japan to be installed on RESILIENCE lander and finally prepared for launch in Winter 2024. The RESILIENCE lander is planned to deliver to the lunar surface as part of ispace’s HAKUTO-R Mission 2.
HRH the Grand Duke of Luxembourg and Minister of the Economy, SME, Energy and Tourism, Lex Delles in the Clean room of the Manufacturing Lab
The official visit also included a tour of ispace EUROPE’s Lunar Analog Test facility and Mission Control Room. During the visit, the Grand Duke experienced rover operations on the lunar surface, simulated in ispace’s facility. During conversations with ispace engineers working in the mission control room in ispace EU’s facility, he praised the cutting-edge rover technology born in Luxembourg, designed to overcome challenges on the lunar surface and enhance exploration.
“It was a great honour to be able to join the visit at ispace, and we are very proud to see what the team achieved during the past few years. We are looking forward to the next steps of the mission which will also be the first one under the 2017 national Law on the Exploration and Use of Space Resources” said Deputy CEO of the Luxembourg Space Agency, Mathias Link.
“We are very honored to welcome His Royal Highness the Grand Duke of Luxembourg, government officials, the Ambassador of Japan to Luxembourg, and others at the ispace EUROPE office, where development is nearing completion on the micro rover that will be installed on the RESILIENCE lunar lander for the upcoming ispace M2 mission. The rover mission exemplifies the strong partnership between ispace and Luxembourg, united by a bold vision for space exploration and a determined, can-do attitude. We are happy to have the opportunity to strengthen the relations between the governments of Luxembourg and Japan.” said ispace EUROPE CEO Julien-Alexandre Lamamy.
Group photo: HRH the Grand Duke of Luxembourg with officials and ispace EUROPE employees
The micro rover is being developed with co-funding from the Luxembourg Space Agency through a European Space Agency contract with the Luxembourg National Space Programme, LuxIMPULSE.
About ispace, inc. (https://ispace-inc.com)
ispace, a global lunar resource development company with the vision, “Expand our planet. Expand our future.”, specializes in designing and building lunar landers and rovers. ispace aims to extend the sphere of human life into space and create a sustainable world by providing high-frequency, low-cost transportation services to the Moon. The company has business entities in Japan, Luxembourg, and the United States with more than 300 employees worldwide. For more information, visit: www.ispace-inc.com and follow us on X: @ispace_inc.