The European Space Agency (ESA) is Europe’s gateway to space. Its mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world.
Find out more about space activities in our 23 Member States, and understand how ESA works together with their national agencies, institutions and organisations.
Exploring our Solar System and unlocking the secrets of the Universe
Go to topicProtecting life and infrastructure on Earth and in orbit
Go to topicUsing space to benefit citizens and meet future challenges on Earth
Go to topicMaking space accessible and developing the technologies for the future
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The European Large Logistic Lander enables a series of proposed ESA missions to the Moon that could be configured for different operations such as cargo delivery, returning samples from the Moon or prospecting resources found on the Moon.
This image shows the cargo configuration of the lander, delivering supplies and even rovers or robots to the Moon’s surface for astronauts as part of NASA’s Artemis programme.
The European Large Logistic Lander will bring a sample return package to a previously unexplored region near the lunar South Pole as an interesting area for researchers.
Other goals of the missions include testing new hardware, demonstrating technology and gaining experience in operations while strengthening international partnerships in exploration. Its development will provide an Ariane 64-based lunar cargo lander available for potential future commercialisation by European industry.
The sample return mission based on the Heracles European Large Logistic Lander enables an international programme to use the Gateway to the fullest and enable scientists on Earth to select and return samples of their choice using artificial intelligence technology that is more capable than on previous missions.