New government funding helps UK companies lead the way for future Moon missions

UK companies are developing new communication and navigation services needed for future missions to the Moon, thanks to funding from the UK Space Agency.

In what will be the world’s first commercial servicing of its kind, Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL), Inmarsat and MDA UK are among those who won contracts with the European Space Agency (ESA), worth just over £2 million in total, to shape the infrastructure for future lunar exploration.

NASA plans to return to the Moon by 2024 and, working with ESA and other partners, intends to put a Gateway with living quarters for astronauts in lunar orbit. Reliable navigation and telecommunication capabilities are essential for these missions, and others like it, to succeed.

Science Minister Amanda Solloway said:

“People all over the world will be hugely excited by the upcoming missions to the Moon – and I’m proud that it is UK space companies who are leading the way in making these become a reality.  

 “Britain’s expertise in navigation and telecommunications is second to none and this first of its kind commercial service - spearheaded by some of the UK’s most innovative businesses – demonstrates our ambition for the UK to become a world- leading space nation.”

The study will set out the infrastructure required for the consortiums to deliver a constellation of Lunar communication and navigation satellites which would enable surface missions operating on the far side of the Moon, without a line of sight direct to the Earth, to keep constant contact with Earth. It will also provide Lunar navigation signals to support the precision landing of scientific equipment and the operation of rovers.

Elodie Viau, ESA’s Director of Telecommunications and Integrated Applications, said:

“A lasting link with the Moon enables sustainable space exploration for all our international partners, including commercial space companies. By using an ESA-backed telecommunications and navigation service for the Moon, explorers will be able to navigate smoothly and to relay to Earth all the knowledge gained from these lunar missions.

“A robust, reliable and efficient telecommunications and navigation system will make the dozens of individual missions planned for the Moon more cost-efficient and enable smaller countries to become space-faring nations, inspiring the next generation of scientists and engineers.”

Inmarsat, based in London, and MDA Space and Robotics Ltd (MDA UK), based in the Harwell Science and Innovation Campus in Oxfordshire, are part of a consortium led by Telespazio in Italy investigating the development of a Lunar Communications and Navigation Service (LCNS) to support future science, exploration and commercial activities in orbit above, and on, the lunar surface.

Yasrine Ibnyahya, Senior Director, Advanced Concepts and Technologies at Inmarsat, said: 

“Providing communication and navigation capabilities around the Moon is a major challenge, both technically and commercially. But I strongly believe that the expertise and assets from Inmarsat and our partners can solve this challenge in the most efficient and cost-effective way.

“Communications and navigation are both core capabilities of Inmarsat’s Earth operations in orbit and on the ground, so it is only natural that we expand our reach and leverage our know-how beyond our planet to the Moon.

“This lunar project is only the first step to unlock future opportunities. It can become the hub to facilitate human space exploration, further technology developments and perhaps access to new resources.”

The findings from the latest ‘Size and Health of the UK Space Industry’ report, commissioned by the UK Space Agency and published this week, show income from the UK space sector has risen from £15.6 billion to £16.4 billion, representing growth of 5.7% in real terms while employment is up by 3,200 from 41,900 to 45,100.

-ENDS-

Contact: Gareth Bethell, UK Space Agency, Gareth.bethell@ukspaceagency.gov.uk

About ESA Moonlight

For the past three years, ESA has been working along with industrial partners to explore the lunar market. As part of an initiative called Moonlight, ESA is now conducting deep analyses of the planned lunar missions and further developing possible solutions, both technical and business-related, to provide telecommunications and navigation services for the Moon.

Inmarsat and MDA UK consortium, led by Telespazio in Italy

The second consortium will be spearheaded by Telespazio, working with: satellite manufacturer Thales Alenia Space; satellite operator Inmarsat, based in the UK and space technology company MDA UK.

MDA UK’s role in the consortium is twofold: first, to support the development of the business case by performing a market analysis of North American commercial and government organisations that could become future customers of such a service, and second, to develop and define a baseline systems concept that supports the space segment communications requirements for the user needs identified in the market analysis.

The contract is for the next stage of project development over 17 months. Upon completion of this 17 month study phase, ESA will then review the study to inform how it proceeds towards the next stage, including satellite and ground segment procurement, in late 2022.