Surrey Satellite Technology expands contract for lunar communications services

Guildford-based Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL) has updated its contract with the European Space Agency (ESA) to provide additional communications services from the Lunar Pathfinder satellite.

Due to launch in 2025, Lunar Pathfinder will be the world’s first dedicated lunar communications relay spacecraft. It is set to support both commercial and institutional customers like NASA as they prospect, explore, and ultimately seek to utilise the far side of the Moon.

Where lunar missions up to now have relied upon direct to Earth (DTE) communication, requiring a line of sight ‘back to base’, the data relay services planned by SSTL and ETA facilitate more ambitious projects. Rovers, for example, will be able to survive longer and travel further from their landers.

Of particular interest on the far side of the Moon is the South Pole Aitkin Basin, a key area for future exploration due to its unique chemical and mineral composition. The stable elliptical orbit of Lunar Pathfinder maximises visibility of this region, allowing for consistent transmission and reception of data between the Moon and Earth.

ESA will be the anchor customer for services from Lunar Pathfinder when it launches. The recent expansion to their contract with SSTL comes as another development in a series of collaborations over the past five years, and positions the Surrey firm as a key provider of lunar communications for the coming decade.

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