On the way to a European lunar infrastructure: ESA awards OHB OASIS studies

Bremen, October 19, 2026 – Europe is preparing for the next generation of lunar exploration: with OASIS (Outpost for Advanced Scientific Investigation Station), a shared infrastructure is envisioned to support scientific experiments and technology demonstrations on the lunar surface over the long term. The European Space Agency (ESA) has awarded OHB System AG, a subsidiary of the space and technology group OHB SE, the corresponding feasibility and preliminary design studies.

"With OASIS, we are taking lunar exploration a step further. Europe is not only looking at individual missions to the Moon, but at the infrastructure that will enable long-term scientific research and technological innovation in the first place," says Marco Fuchs, Chief Executive Officer of OHB SE. "With OASIS, we are creating the conditions that will allow science and technology activities to be conducted on the lunar surface sustainably and beyond the scope of individual missions."

With OASIS, Europe is investigating an approach comparable to the role of research stations or utility networks on Earth. Future lunar payloads could rely on shared infrastructure and central services instead of having to develop and transport power, communications and data systems for every mission separately. This would allow scientists and developers to focus more strongly on their actual research and technology objectives.

The platform is designed to provide core services such as power supply, communications and data storage for multiple payloads, thereby enabling long-term scientific and technological activities on the lunar surface. Energy generated and stored during the lunar day is intended to help sustain payload operations throughout the approximately two-week-long lunar night. By sharing central infrastructure, the complexity, mass and cost of future lunar missions could be significantly reduced.

As prime contractor for the ESA studies, OHB is responsible for the overall system concept and is working together with partners on system requirements and the preliminary design phase. The modular and scalable concept is designed to support a variety of scientific instruments, technology demonstrators and robotic systems in the future, laying the foundation for sustained research and exploration activities on the lunar surface.

OASIS is part of a broader European vision for lunar exploration. In the current reference architecture, the infrastructure could be delivered to the Moon by the European lunar lander Argonaut aboard an Ariane 6 launch vehicle. For communications and data relay, the European lunar communications infrastructure Moonlight is envisaged, starting with Lunar Pathfinder. OASIS would therefore connect key European space programs on and around the Moon, creating an integrated framework for future exploration activities.


Contact:

Media representatives:
Marianne Radel
Corporate Communications
Phone: +49 421 2020 9159
Email: marianne.radel@ohb.de

Investors and analysts:
Marcel Dietz
Investor Relations
Phone: +49 421 2020 6426
Email: ir@ohb.de