Exploration Company to test one-tonne ONEIROS lunar hopper in UAE in 2027

The Exploration Company has announced it will test a lunar hopper demonstrator called ONEIROS in the United Arab Emirates in 2027. The project is privately funded and aims to validate technologies that could support lower-cost access to the lunar surface.

The company plans to build a one-tonne demonstrator with a throttleable methane-fuelled rocket engine, autonomous navigation and hazard-avoidance systems. According to the abstract of a paper presented at the 77th International Astronautical Congress in Antalya, Türkiye, work began earlier this year. Teams have built several breadboards to reduce technical risk before the planned flight demonstration next year.

The choice of the UAE follows a memorandum of understanding with the country's national space agency. No binding agreement has been announced, but the abstract confirmed testing would take place in "the UAE desert."

ONEIROS is to be followed by Hilal, a demonstrator for precision landing and methane/oxygen propulsion on the Moon's surface. The company told European Spaceflight it would then take a "step-by-step approach to lunar vehicle development."

Sourceeuropeanspaceflight.com