Momentus
Momentus and Qosmosys announce first Singaporean lunar mission on Ardoride service vehicle. Credit: D Sinclair Terrasidius via Flickr.

Commercial space company Momentus has announced its first lunar mission with Singapore-based space venture Qosmosys.

As part of the service agreement signed by the firms, Momentus will deliver two CubeSats to low-lunar orbit onboard its Ardoride Service Vehicle.

The mission is expected to take place as early as 2024.

Momentus CEO Dawn Harms said: “Momentus is delighted to usher in the 2021 lunar new year in Singapore with the announcement of our first lunar mission with Qosmosys. We look forward to working with Qosmosys to enable new and creative business models to thrive in space.”

The contract expands the agreement between the two companies that was reached last month.

Under that contract, two 3UXL protoflight CubeSats will be delivered to low-Earth orbit by Momentus’ Vigoride service vehicle.

The delivery is expected to start in 2022. It has two more options in 2023.

Qosmosys CEO Francois Dubrulle said: “We are excited to partner with Momentus again, now onboard Ardoride’s inaugural lunar mission in 2024.

“Our vision is to make space accessible to all, and Momentus will help us achieve this goal through their efficient orbital services.”

Qosmosys uses a Zeus-MS bus specifically designed for lunar missions.

Zeus-MS has been developed collaboratively by Qosmosys and NuSpace from Singapore.

Ardoride is Momentus’ next-generation service vehicle succeeding Vigoride and will extend the range and capabilities of the company’s services from 2023.

Last week, Momentus announced a service agreement with San Mateo-based startup Xona Space Systems to advance Xona’s 2022 Alpha mission.