Thales Alenia Space has been awarded a contract valued at nearly $900 million to design and deliver the Lunar Descent Element (LDE) for Argonaut. Argonaut, a cargo lander developed by the European Space Agency (ESA), is scheduled for lunar missions beginning in the 2030s.
The contract encompasses mission design and integration of the LDE, responsible for transporting and landing the spacecraft on the Moon. This will be complemented by an adaptable interface for various cargo and scientific payloads. Argonaut's inaugural mission is anticipated to deliver navigation and telecommunication payloads, alongside an energy generation and storage system, facilitating commercial European exploration of the lunar south pole.
The ESA is also positioning Argonaut, with a cargo capacity of about two metric tons, as a potential resource for future NASA Artemis lunar missions. "This new element of the Artemis program will facilitate long-duration human lunar exploration missions and be crucial for enhancing European autonomy in lunar exploration," stated Thales Alenia Space CEO Hervé Derrey.
NASA tasked SpaceX and Blue Origin with developing cargo variants of their Human Landing System (HLS) landers last year, capable of transporting at least 12 metric tons to the lunar surface. This surpasses Argonaut's capacity and exceeds the capabilities of smaller robotic landers currently used under NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services program.
Thales Alenia Space highlighted Argonaut's adaptability, with an interface supporting diverse missions. The lander could transport astronaut supplies, deploy rovers, facilitate technology demonstrations, support lunar resource utilization, and accommodate a telescope or power station. While Thales Alenia Space leads LDE development, overall mission responsibility, including payload integration and LDE operations, will be determined via a separate procurement process.