Compania clujeană Control Data Systems SRL (CDS) și filiala europeană a companiei nipone iSpace au semnat un acord pentru transportul pe suprafața Lunii a două demonstratoare tehnice, pentru măsurarea poziției (este continuarea unui memorandum semnat la 01 martie 2024 între cele două companii). Va fi primul echipament românesc care ajunge pe Lună, cel mai probabil în 2026, la bordul roverului/landerului APEX 1.0. Dacă tehnologia va fi validată, echipamente similare vor face parte din viitoarele misiuni selenare iSpace.
« ispace EUROPE S.A. (ispace-EUROPE), the Luxembourg-based subsidiary of ispace, inc., and Control Data Systems SRL (CDS) have signed a payload services agreement to transport precise location measurement equipment to the Moon, the two companies announced.
CDS’s technology, which combines precision localization with telecommunications, uses Ultra-Wideband for determining precise positions and was developed specifically for space applications with support from the European Space Agency. The lack of a GPS-like system on the Moon, makes the technology ground-breaking for future applications related to lunar exploration.
The agreement between the two companies marks the first joint step towards significant contributions to the scientific understanding of the Moon for potential future commercial purposes. It also represents the first Romanian payload to be delivered to the lunar surface. The technology will be integrated into the APEX 1.0 lunar lander as part of ispace technologies U.S. (ispace-U.S.) Mission 3, currently scheduled for 2026. A lunar rover will transport the CDS equipment on the surface to test the localization technology using an antenna that will remain on the APEX 1.0 lander. »