PayloadMoonManifested

PROSPECT (Package for Resource Observation, in-Situ Prospecting for Exploration, Characterisation & Testing)

ESA drill (ProSEED) and miniature laboratory (ProSPA) package designed to drill beneath the lunar polar surface, extract samples, measure cold-trapped volatiles such as water ice and test oxygen extraction from regolith. It was built for Russia's Luna-27 lander until ESA ended lunar cooperation with Roscosmos in April 2022, when ESA expected a 2025 CLPS flight; it is now assigned to Intuitive Machines' IM-4 flight to Mons Mouton (NASA task order CP-22), which NASA lists for 2027.

Objective. Drill into polar regolith, extract samples and determine the origin and abundance of cold-trapped volatiles; test oxygen extraction from regolith.

Targeted

Facts

Kind: Payload
Mission type: Prospecting
Target: MoonMons Mouton, lunar south pole region
Launch: Planned 2027 (target)
Announcement date not recorded. Record checked 2026-09-25.
Phase: ManifestedESA video page (2026-06) and NASA CP-22 page name PROSPECT on IM-4; NASA IM-4 launch listing shows 2027.
Outcome: Not applicable
Why it is included: Carries a resource instrument

Participants

Operators, payload owners, carriers and customers are recorded separately.

Organization	Role
European Space Agency	Payload owner
Intuitive Machines	Carrier
National Aeronautics and Space Administration	Customer

Resources and evidence

Resource	Evidence
Water ice	Targeted
Volatiles	Targeted
Oxygen	Targeted

Open evidence gaps

ESA's own PROSPECT articles (esa.int) returned HTTP 403; flight assignment confirmed via the 2026 ESA video page and NASA pages.
Name expansion differs: NASA's CP-22 page uses '... Exploration, Commercial exploitation and Transportation'; ESA's 2026 page uses '... Exploration, Characterisation & Testing'.
Host flight record not created: NASA lists PROSPECT on Intuitive Machines IM-4.

Record history

changes to this record's facts, newest first

Changed	Field	Was	Now	Reason	Source
2022-04-13	host mission id	Luna-27 (Roscosmos lander)	NASA CLPS delivery (2025 expected)	Source update	[6]

Sources

7 sources

[1]Prospect mission animation
European Space AgencyGovernment recordPublished 2026-06Accessed 2026-09-25Supports: phase, host mission id, participants
Prospect will reach the lunar surface with the Intuitive Machines' Nova-C lunar lander on the IM-4 mission
Quote matched the source text when accessed.
[2]Prospect mission animation
European Space AgencyGovernment recordPublished 2026-06Accessed 2026-09-25Supports: objective, resources, inclusion basis
The mini lab will also test in-situ resource utilisation, such as oxygen extraction from lunar regolith
Quote matched the source text when accessed.
[3]CLPS CP-22 Science
NASA ScienceGovernment recordAccessed 2026-09-25Supports: phase, objective, participants
We will use PROSPECT and L-CIRiS to help locate nearby chemical compounds that could provide water, oxygen, fuel, and building materials
Quote matched the source text when accessed.
[4]CLPS Flight: Intuitive Machines IM-4
NASAGovernment recordAccessed 2026-09-25Supports: target site, launch date, host mission id
Intuitive Machines' IM-4 will deliver science and technology to Mons Mouton near the Moon's South Pole
Quote matched the source text when accessed.
[5]ESA Ends Lunar Cooperation with Russia, Turns to NASA, Commercial Partners
SpacePolicyOnline.comPressPublished 2022-04-13Accessed 2026-09-25Supports: history
Luna-27 is another lander that was to use the PILOT precision navigation and landing system and deliver the PROSPECT drill and mass spectrometer to find and analyze subsurface water ice and other chemicals.
Quote matched the source text when accessed.
[6]ESA Ends Lunar Cooperation with Russia, Turns to NASA, Commercial Partners
SpacePolicyOnline.comPressPublished 2022-04-13Accessed 2026-09-25Supports: history
The drill, being built by Leonardo, will fly on the 2025 CLPS mission
Quote matched the source text when accessed.
[7]ESA Space Resources Strategy
European Space AgencyGovernment recordPublished 2019-05Accessed 2026-09-25Supports: summary
The first utilisation of space resources will be on the Moon; a source of water, oxygen, metals and other materials.
Quote matched the source text when accessed.