Thales Alenia Space has completed the formation of the core industrial team that will develop the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Argonaut lunar lander, signing contracts with Nammo, OHB System and two of its own subsidiaries, the company said on Thursday.
ESA awarded an €862 million contract in January 2025 to a consortium led by Thales Alenia Space Italy to build the Lunar Descent Element (LDE), the module responsible for guiding Argonaut to a soft, precise landing on the Moon. The LDE forms the central component of the lander and will support multiple European missions in the coming decade.
Thales Alenia Space Italy will lead assembly, integration and testing of the LDE. Its French subsidiary will develop the Data Handling Subsystem and procure onboard computer hardware, while the UK unit will manage the propulsion subsystem, including the acquisition of tanks and thrusters.
Nammo, the Norwegian aerospace and defence firm, will design the lander’s main engine—an addition to the core team not included in ESA’s initial January announcement. Germany’s OHB System will oversee guidance, navigation and control, electrical power, and telecommunications, and will procure key components including solar arrays, batteries, LIDAR and transponders.
The updated team structure remains largely consistent with earlier plans, with Nammo as the notable new entrant. ESA also revised the mission schedule, projecting in its 20 November update that the first Argonaut mission will launch in 2030—one year earlier than initially planned.
Once developed, Argonaut will stand about six metres tall with a diameter of 4.5 metres and a launch mass of roughly ten tonnes. It will be capable of delivering about 1,500 kilograms of payload to the lunar surface. The first mission is slated to launch on an Ariane 6 rocket in its four-booster configuration.
