Royal, Ministerial Visit Marks 5th Anniversary of ispace Europe in Luxembourg

On Monday 2 May 2022, His Royal Highness the Hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg and the Minister of the Economy, Franz Fayot, visited the premises of ispace Europe SA (ispace EU) as part of the celebrations organised to commemorate the fifth anniversary of its presence in Luxembourg.

On the occasion of this visit, two new facilities were inaugurated: a laboratory for the manufacture of lunar rovers and a mission control room, which will be complementary to the ispace mission control center based in Tokyo, Japan, during the operations of its M1 mission.

Founded in 2010 in Japan, ispace inc. is a lunar exploration company that employs a total of more than 170 people spread across Japan, Europe and the United States (US). ispace builds small commercial lunar landers with the aim of making frequent, low-cost deliveries to the moon. Aspiring to support companies that want to expand their business on the moon, ispace has also launched a lunar data management and analysis service to help companies understand and access the lunar market. The company's first lunar mission is currently scheduled for 2022. The lander for this mission is undergoing final assembly by ispace at an ArianeGroup facility in Germany and will be launched from the US on a Falcon 9 rocket from SpaceX.

ispace EU, the European subsidiary of ispace inc., is located in Luxembourg. ispace EU started its activities in March 2017, within the framework of a cooperation agreement with the SpaceResources.lu initiative of the Ministry of the Economy and the Luxembourg Space Agency (LSA) aimed at supporting the development of an innovative commercial space industry. Launched in 2016, this initiative has positioned Luxembourg as a pioneer in the exploration and use of space resources. ispace EU has experienced significant growth in its first five years of existence and today employs more than 25 people, including experts in space robotics, data analysis and the use of space resources. The development of rovers is at the heart of its activities, in particular the micro rover which is planned to be sent to the lunar surface by the ispace lander during the ispace M2 mission. From the start of its activities in Luxembourg, the company set up the first "lunar garden" in Luxembourg, which is a reproduction of the environment of the lunar surface, to simulate the driving of rovers on the moon and help the development of navigation technology.

During its five years of activity, ispace EU has experienced remarkable development. For instance, it was selected by the European Space Agency (ESA), with ArianeGroup, to participate in a pilot phase aimed at establishing commercial partnerships in Europe for lunar transport and exploration. It also created a non-profit organisation called EURO2MOON with Airbus Defense & Space and Air Liquide to focus European development efforts on topics related to the exploration of the lunar surface and the commercial and sustainable use of its resources.. In addition, it participates in the scientific team of the ESA for PROSPECT, a programme which aims to extract water from the moon.

On the occasion of this visit, Economy Minister Franz Fayot stated: "In the space of five years, ispace EU has undergone remarkable development which has contributed to strengthening the attractiveness and reputation of Luxembourg in the space sector. Support for innovative companies in the space sector is essential to stimulate the success and commercial development of this sector. With the SpaceResources.lu initiative, followed by the launch of the LSA and then the ESRIC [European Space Resources Innovation Centre], the ministry continues to commit to stimulating research and collaborations in order to make Luxembourg a centre of excellence for research on natural space resources in Europe".

"When I learned about the SpaceResources.lu initiative, I was impressed by the foresight of the Luxembourg government and I was convinced that Luxembourg was the best place to launch our activities at European level", said Takeshi Hakamada, Founder and CEO of ispace inc. "After five years, it turned out to be true. We are grateful for the support of the Luxembourg government and look forward to continuing to grow our partnerships in Europe and beyond". 

"I am very proud of the team we have assembled in ispace's European office over the past five years. Their skills and experience make us a leader in the field of lunar rover technology and use of space resources in Europe and around the world", added Julien-Alexandre Lamamy, Managing Director of ispace EU. "The space industry will experience significant advancements over the next five years and ispace EU will be at the forefront with our partners and for our customers in the future".