LightShip (spacecraft)

Last updated

LightShip
Operator European Space Agency
Applications Mars payload delivery and support
Specifications
Spacecraft typeUncrewed space tug
Production
StatusProposed
BuiltNone
Maiden launch2032 (planned)

LightShip is a proposed m uncrewed interplanetary spacecraft under development by the European Space Agency (ESA) that will serve as a space tug [1] [2] for transporting payloads to Mars and provide communication, navigation, and weather monitoring services from a high Mars orbit. It will use its onboard solar electric propulsion to transport other spacecraft to vicinity of Mars and after the payload separates, LightShip will move to a high orbit of nearly 6000 km above the surface to form part of the Mars Communication and Navigation Infrastructure (MARCONI). [3] [4] [5] [6]

Contents

Name

It is named after a lightship—a ship that acts as a lighthouse. [3] ESA specifically cites the East Goodwin lightship whose captain sent the first radio distress signal using Guglielmo Marconi's wireless technology in 1899. [3] [7]

Missions

If approved, the first LightShip mission will take place in 2032. Subsequent launch windows open in 2035 and 2037. [3]

LightShip-1 and SpotLight

The first mission of LightShip will deliver a Mars surface-imaging orbiter called SpotLight. Its primary payload will be high resolution and medium-resolution context cameras. SpotLight will separate from LightShip-1 during the interplanetary cruise and enter Martian orbit using its own propulsion. LightShip-1 will then enter into its own operational orbit to demonstrate its MARCONI communications and navigation systems. [5] [8] [9]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Towards low-cost missions to Mars". www.esa.int. Retrieved 2026-01-03.
  2. ↑ "Seven things you didn't know about Europe's tug to Mars – To Mars and back". blogs.esa.int. Retrieved 2026-01-03.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Seven things you didn't know about Europe's tug to Mars – To Mars and back" . Retrieved 2025-08-19.
  4. ↑ Parsonson, Andrew (2025-01-21). "ESA Selects Consortia to Define Payload Platforms for Mars Tug". European Spaceflight. Retrieved 2025-08-19.
  5. 1 2 B, Emily (2025-08-18). "ESA Increases Mars Ambitions with Mars Transportation Infrastructure". Space Scout. Retrieved 2025-08-19.
  6. ↑ "ESA's LightShip: Revolutionizing Mars Exploration With Low-Cost Spacecraft". SciTechDaily. 2025-01-26. Retrieved 2025-09-25.
  7. ↑ "South Foreland Lighthouse's history | Kent". National Trust. Retrieved 2025-09-25.
  8. ↑ Baroncini, Iacopo (2025-03-07). "Announcement of Opportunity for LightShip and SpotLight Science Payloads of Opportunity Released". SciSpacE. Retrieved 2025-09-25.
  9. ↑ "ESA's LightShip" (PDF).
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