MDA Space UK selected by OHB to supply lunar landing sensors for ESA's Argonaut
MDA Space · OHB System AG
MDA Space UK will supply LEIA LiDAR sensors for the hazard-detection system on ESA's Argonaut lunar lander, per an interim OHB contract.
what happened
MDA Space Ltd. announced July 21 it received a Pre-Authorisation to Proceed contract from OHB System AG to deliver two flight units of its LEIA LiDAR sensor for the hazard detection and avoidance system on ESA's Argonaut lunar lander, per MDA's release carried on PR Newswire and independently reported by Flight Plan. The interim contract, formalized at the Farnborough International Airshow, lets MDA begin engineering work and procure long-lead items from its UK operations ahead of a full definitive agreement; no contract value was stated. OHB is one of the core industrial partners, alongside prime contractor Thales Alenia Space, building Argonaut, Europe's first independent lunar landing capability, under coordination with NASA's Artemis program.
why it matters
Argonaut is ESA's flagship uncrewed lunar cargo lander, and locking in MDA's UK-built hazard-avoidance sensor keeps a UK supplier inside the mission's safety-critical descent system as the program moves from concept studies toward hardware contracts. For MDA, it extends a lunar-sensor product line already flying or contracted on multiple commercial lunar landers into ESA's own program.
signal-to-noise
quick facts
- Companies
- MDA Space, OHB System AG
- Category
- science
- Impact
- notable
- SNR
- 4 / 5
- Event date
- 2026-07-21
- Published
- 2026-07-28 05:25 UTC