Helios, supported by the Israel Space Agency (ISA), the Ministry of Energy and the Israel Innovation Authority, works to enable sustainable human life on Earth and beyond. The company is developing a reactor to produce oxygen from the lunar surface and reactors to produce iron and silicon on Earth with zero carbon emissions.

Its technology will fly on three Lunar Surface Access Service (LSAS) missions managed by OHB SE, which aims to provide European and international customers with rapid access to the moon.

“In the development of the lunar economic market, we intend to fill a gap with LSAS as the first European lunar shuttle service, because according to current plans, an institutional European lunar lander will be available no earlier than 2029”, said Dr. Lutz Bertling, member of the Management Board of OHB SE. “When payloads for lunar missions are released in the near future, we want to be ready with our LSAS moon landing service.”

OHB is preparing LSAS with partner Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), with the goal of bringing scientific and commercial payloads to the lunar surface by 2025. More than 100 interested parties have already contacted OHB.

Dr Timo Stuffler, OHB (left) and Helios CEO Jonathan Geifman sign MoU (credit: OHB)

Helios CEO Jonathan Geifman explained that “the production of oxygen on the lunar surface is the key to enable the expansion of humanity beyond Earth and to drastically reduce the cost of exploration. Oxygen is going to be the most sought-after consumable in space as it represents over 60% of the mass of any fully loaded spacecraft destined for lunar missions and beyond. “

“Helios’ lunar mission with OHB serves to mature its oxygen production technology in a real lunar environment and is an important step in realizing the coming moon industry,” Geifman added.

Brig.-Gen. (Res.) Uri Oron, Director General of ISA, explained that establishing a permanent moon base will require international cooperation and partnerships between space agencies and private companies.

“Helios, an Israeli startup backed by the Israel Space Agency, is an example of a company that will become a key player in efforts to return to the moon,” Oron said. “The Israel Space Agency welcomes the cooperation between OHB SE, Helios and Israel Aerospace Industries. This cooperation demonstrates the strong and enduring relationship between Germany and Israel, and the contribution this partnership can make to the space industry. “