Puli Space Technologies is a space technology company based in Budapest, Hungary, founded in 2010 with the goal of becoming part of the private lunar industry. The company develops a low-cost, lightweight planetary rover platform with unique mobility capabilities, along with payloads and a neutron spectrometer designed to explore lunar water resources and support In-Situ Resource Utilisation (ISRU) activities in the Moon’s harsh environment.
A key part of Puli Space’s technology portfolio is the Puli rover platform, which is being developed for planetary surface exploration and the transportation of scientific payloads. The company has built terrestrial rover prototypes and gained experience through Moon and Mars analog field tests, with the Mission Control team participating in successful tests on analog terrains in Hawaii, Morocco and Austria, including cooperation with analog astronauts. These activities support the development of technologies and operational experience for future human and robotic planetary exploration.
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At the centre of the company’s lunar resource exploration work is the Puli Lunar Water Snooper (PLWS), a miniature lunar neutron spectrometer designed to map potential water-ice resources. The instrument can monitor and characterize the neutron environment, identify and measure subsurface hydrogen in lunar soil and map areas for potential water deposits. Puli Space won second prize in NASA JPL’s “Honey, I Shrunk the NASA Payload, The Sequel” challenge in 2022. The PLWS was designed, manufactured and tested through two consecutive challenges, with NASA funding $225,000 toward payload development in 2021.
Two NASA-awarded PLWS instruments were selected to fly aboard Intuitive Machines’ IM-2 lunar mission, which launched in February 2025. Mounted on the Micro Nova Hopper, the instruments were designed to measure albedo neutron count rates indicating the presence of water ice in the Moon’s South Pole region. Puli Space states that the payload was also intended to collect direct surface data from a permanently shadowed crater, supporting further investigation of lunar water resources.
Puli Space has also established a milestone in commercial deep-space exploration through the collaboration with the European Space Agency (ESA). The company and ESA signed what Puli Space describes as the first-ever exploration data-buy agreement for a commercial deep-space mission, further supporting the development of commercial lunar exploration and the use of privately generated lunar mission data. The company’s lunar exploration activities trace back to the participation in the Google Lunar XPRIZE (GLXP). Team Puli became an official contestant in 2010 in the privately funded competition, which challenged teams to land a robotic spacecraft on the Moon, travel 500 meters, and transmit high-definition video and images back to Earth. Although the competition ended without a winner in 2018, Puli Space states that it continues its mission to send a lunar rover and payloads to the Moon.
Another milestone in Puli Space’s payload development was the Spacetime plaque, launched in 2024 aboard Astrobotic’s Peregrine lunar lander. Developed as a Hungarian time capsule intended to exist simultaneously on Earth and in space, the plaque represented the company’s first payload and although not delivered to the lunar surface, marked an early step in its lunar exploration activities and partnership with Astrobotic, established in 2016. Building on this foundation, Puli Space Technologies is advancing lightweight planetary rover technology, specialized mobility systems, miniature neutron spectroscopy, lunar water-resource mapping, analog planetary testing and commercial payload development, with continued work spanning robotic exploration, lunar resource research and the creation of payloads capable of operating in challenging planetary environments.
About Puli Space Technologies
Puli Space Technologies is a Hungarian space technology company headquartered in Budapest, focused on lunar and planetary exploration. Founded in 2010, the company develops lightweight rover platforms, lunar water-resource exploration instruments and space payloads, while building its capabilities through analog planetary research, NASA-supported technology development, commercial lunar missions and international partnerships.
