Brussels, 25 September, (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – Belgian space company Space Applications Services has unveiled plans to send the country’s first Belgian lunar rover to the Moon’s south pole in early 2029. The LUVMI-M rover is scheduled to travel aboard Blue Origin’s MK1 lunar lander and, according to the company, could become Europe’s first fully operational commercial lunar rover mission.
LUVMI-M scheduled for lunar south pole in 2029
Space Applications Services announced the mission on 23 September. The company, based in Zaventem near Brussels, has secured a place for LUVMI-M aboard Blue Origin’s MK1 lander, which is expected to deliver the vehicle to the lunar surface.
The rover has been developed in Belgium and will be controlled from the company’s Belgian space operations centre after landing. Earlier information about the project described LUVMI-M as weighing about 20 kilograms, with capacity to carry approximately another 20 kilograms of scientific equipment.
Its planned work includes searching for volatile materials such as water ice and helium-3, examining the geological and geotechnical properties of lunar regolith, recording seismic activity and studying plasma and dust interactions. The rover will also demonstrate navigation and communications technologies that could be used during future lunar missions.
Company targets commercial access to Moon
Space Applications Services wants LUVMI-M to provide researchers and companies with access to the lunar surface without requiring them to develop an entire mission.
Chief executive Richard Aked said:
“With LUVMI-M, we are making an important step towards enabling lunar exploration.”
Aked said the planned 2029 flight was on track to become Europe’s first fully operational commercial lunar rover mission and argued that commercial missions could make lunar research more cost-effective for companies and researchers.
The company calls the commercial concept “Moon as a Service”. Customers would be able to place payloads on the rover, operate experiments and receive data while Space Applications Services provides the surface mobility and supporting infrastructure.
Belgian rover completes lunar mobility testing
The Belgian lunar rover has already undergone mobility testing at the European Space Agency’s LUNA facility in Cologne and at Space Applications Services’ Moon Yard. Researchers presenting the project at the Europlanet Science Congress 2026 said LUVMI-M was designed for scientific investigations, technology demonstrations and lunar prospecting.
The rover is also designed to make short excursions into permanently shadowed regions, subject to its thermal and energy limits. Such locations are scientifically important because they could contain volatile-rich material.
Reflecting on the wider ambitions behind the project, Space Applications Services chief financial officer Fabian Suarez said:
“We are pushing boundaries and preparing the world of tomorrow.”
Mission expands Belgium’s role in lunar exploration
The mission would give Belgium a direct role in the emerging commercial lunar economy while providing European scientists and businesses with another potential route to the Moon.
Development of LUVMI-M has received support from the European Union, the Belgian Science Policy Office and the European Space Agency.
Further LUVMI missions planned after 2029
Space Applications Services will continue developing and testing the rover before its planned early-2029 journey. The company says that after the first Belgian lunar rover mission, it intends to conduct additional LUVMI missions every two years using vehicles with increasing levels of autonomy and robotic capability.
The longer-term objective is to support sustained scientific and industrial activity on the Moon, although the first mission must still complete its remaining development, integration and launch preparations before LUVMI-M can begin operating on the lunar surface.
