The German satellite company OHB and the Israeli Aerospace Industries are brochures; will offer moon landing services to the European Space Agency
OHB System AG, a German satellite company and the Aerospace Industry today, Tuesday 29.1.19, at the Ilan Ramon Space Conference, signed a Teaming Agreement under which the companies cooperate to offer moon landing and access services for the European Space Agency (ESA) ). The agreement was signed by the CEO of OHB System AG, Marko Fuchs, and the director of the Aerospace Industry Space Plant, Ofer Doron, in the presence of Prof. Johann Dietrich Werner, Director General of the European Space Agency ESA, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the German Space Agency DLR, Prof. Pascal Ehrenhund and the head of the Israeli Space Agency, Avi Blasberger.
According to the agreement between the companies, OHB will be the main contractor and will manage the activity with the European Space Agency and the developers of the scientific instruments that will be installed on the lunar lander, and IAI will provide a lunar lander based on the lunar spacecraft that was built in cooperation with SpaceIL and is expected to be launched next month from the USA.
The collaboration is designed to provide lunar access services for ISRU - IN-SITU Resource Utilization missions of the European Space Agency. As part of these missions, spacecraft will be launched that will demonstrate technologies for producing oxygen, water and other raw materials from the lunar soil, as well as collect and analyze samples from the lunar soil. These technologies are necessary for long-term human settlement outside the Earth.
Marco Fox, CEO of OHB System AG: "Exploring the moon and examining it as a basis for finding opportunities in the various lunar resources for fuel, oxygen, or water production is the next required step. Landing on the moon is still a technological challenge and we have invested resources in learning and developing technologies on the subject. I am happy to combine the expertise of OHB together with the expertise of the aerospace industry and to bring about a synergistic cooperation in the world of space to jointly deal with the business opportunities surrounding the future moon programs".
Nimrod Shafer, CEO of IAI: "IAI is proud to join a leading satellite company in the world and cooperate with the German and European space agencies, this is a certificate of honor for the entire Israeli space industry. The technological knowledge acquired in the development and construction of Berashit together with SpaceIL and the merger with OHB allow us to be partners in the world's advanced research activities in outer space. We are proud to continue leading the Israeli space industry into new territories and are eagerly awaiting the launch of Bereshit into space and its journey to the moon next month."
Prof. Johann-Dietrich Wörner, Director General of the European Space Agency ESA: "Another stone for the lunar village, excellent!"
Avi Blasberger, director of the Israel Space Agency: "We welcome agreements that promote the space industry in Israel. The Israeli moon lander has significant commercial potential."
