MAGPIE: ESA’s first lunar rover
The Moon’s south pole is one of the most promising destinations for future exploration. There is strong evidence that water ice may be preserved in permanently shadowed regions, potentially providing resources such as drinking water, oxygen and fuel for future missions.
MAGPIE, Mission for Advanced Geophysics and Polar Ice Exploration, is designed to investigate this environment. Set to be the first European rover to explore the Moon, MAGPIE will investigate the presence of water and other volatile resources on the Moon’s surface, as well as the geology beneath it.
Weighing just 30 kg, the small rover will carry a scientific suite that combines measurements from a drill, volatile analyser, neutron detector and ground-penetrating radar to investigate the lunar surface and subsurface from multiple perspectives, helping scientists better understand where lunar resources are and how to detect them.
The three payloads
MAGPIE’s three scientific payloads are designed to work together.
The Lunar Volatiles Scout will drill up to 10 cm beneath the surface. A heating element will release water and other volatile substances trapped within the regolith, or lunar soil, and the resulting gases will be channelled through the hollow drill for analysis by a miniature mass spectrometer.
The instrument is being developed by the Technical University of Munich in Germany together with ESR Technology, The Open University and RAL Space in the United Kingdom.
The HardPix neutron detector, developed by the Czech Technical University in Prague, measures neutrons above the lunar surface to identify promising locations for further investigation, such as hydrogen-rich regions that may indicate the presence of water.
The Lunar RIMFAX ground penetrating radar, developed by the University of Oslo in Norway, can probe up to 10 metres beneath the surface. Adapted from radar technology used on NASA’s Perseverance rover, it maps geological layers beneath the Moon’s surface, helping scientists understand how potential water deposits relate to the surrounding terrain and subsurface structure.
Together, the instruments provide complementary information. The neutron detector and radar can identify areas where water and other volatile resources may be present without disturbing the surface, while the volatiles scout analyses gases extracted by a heated drill from the shallow subsurface beneath the regolith. By comparing these measurements, scientists can improve their understanding of the lunar south pole and refine future prospecting techniques, making it easier to identify promising resources.
Small but mighty
MAGPIE is planned for launch in 2029 aboard ispace’s Mission 4. Once on the Moon, the small rover will operate for around 10 Earth days during the lunar day, before the harsh lunar night begins.
In 2026, ESA selected ispace-Europe, the Luxembourg-based European entity of ispace, as prime contractor for the mission.
As the first mission of ESA's Moon Explore campaign MAGPIE represents a new approach to exploration.
By accepting a higher level of risk in exchange for lower cost and faster development, this mission creates opportunities for emerging space companies, accelerating the development of European expertise and surface mobility capabilities for future Moon exploration, while delivering tangible science results.