Magna Petra HALO (Helium Availability of Lunar Origin) reconnaissance payload
Planned rover-borne measurement of low-molecular-weight lunar volatiles, intended to help infer helium-3 presence. ispace-EUROPE announced a $22 million payload service agreement with Magna Petra in October 2025 for NASA's MSOLO instrument. The original transport plan was disrupted by ispace's March 2026 replan and July termination of the associated Draper CP-12 delivery; HALO's replacement host and flight date remain unresolved.
Objective. Measure low-molecular-weight lunar volatiles from a rover to investigate resources and help infer the presence of helium-3; direct isotope-specific detection is not established by NASA's description.
This is one payload. It does not inherit the carrier mission's outcome.
Facts
- Kind
- Payload
- Carried by
- Not recorded
- Mission type
- Prospecting
- Target
- MoonNo map point: No landing site is recorded.
- Launch
- Not recorded
- Phase
- In developmentIn development under the announced October 2025 payload agreement; no flight is confirmed. That agreement named ispace-U.S.'s APEX 1.0 on the old Mission 3. The March 27, 2026 replan proposed a 2030 U.S. mission and required transport-contract amendments. On July 15, ispace-U.S. announced that Draper and NASA had agreed to end CP-12. The current Mission 3 page lists an M3P Rover but does not identify HALO or MSOLO. Magna Petra's undated FAQ now describes reconnaissance in 2027 and 2028 without assigning HALO to a specific flight. The terminated CLPS delivery does not by itself prove cancellation of the separate HALO payload agreement.
- Outcome
- Not applicable
- Why it is included
- Stated resource objective
How this launch date changed
Recorded change: the plan before → the plan after, oldest first.
- 2025-11-17: no earlier than 2026 (NASA) → 2027 (ispace Mission 3)Schedule slip [5]
- 2026-03-27: 2027 (ispace Mission 3) → unknown: former ispace-U.S. Mission 3 renumbered Mission 5, proposed 2030; transport contracts to be amendedSchedule slip [6]
Only changes recorded here are listed. The oldest date shown may not be the first plan ever announced, and a date with no recorded change may still have moved. A plan is not a launch.
What comes next
No planned launch or landing date is recorded.
Participants
Operators, payload owners, carriers and customers are recorded separately.
| Organization | Role |
|---|---|
| Magna Petra Corp. | Customer |
| Magna Petra Corp. | Payload owner |
| ispace EUROPE S.A. | Operator |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | Payload builder |
Resources and evidence
| Resource | Evidence |
|---|---|
| Helium-3 | Targeted |
| Volatiles | Targeted |
Dated events
- 2025-10-06
ispace-EUROPE to provide MSOLO rover services for Magna Petra (USD 22 million PSA)
ispace-EUROPE announced a USD 22 million payload service agreement with Magna Petra to integrate NASA's MSOLO mass spectrometer on an ispace-EUROPE micro-rover for Magna Petra's HALO helium-3 reconnaissance mission; the release placed the rover on ispace-U.S.'s APEX 1.0 lander (then 'Mission 3').
Company statements only. No independent or government source is recorded here.
Sources (5) and evidence gaps
ispace-EUROPE and Magna Petra Corp. sign total amount of $22 million USD Payload Service Agreement (PSA) to carry NASA’s MSOLO instrument to the lunar surface on the Mission 3 rover.
ispace-EUROPE will integrate a NASA-developed Mass Spectrometer Observing Lunar Operations (MSOLO) instrument into its upcoming Mission 3 lunar micro-rover platform as part of Magna Petra's Helium Availability of Lunar Origin (HALO) reconnaissance mission.
The Mission 3 rover will fly on ispace technologies U.S.' (ispace-U.S.) APEX 1.0. lunar lander
This brings the total contract value for Mission 3 to $86 million USD, up from $64 million USD.
today announced the execution of a $22 million Payload Service Agreement (PSA) with ispace-EUROPE S.A.
- Which ispace mission now carries the MSOLO rover after the March 2026 renumbering and the July 2026 CP-12 termination is not stated.
- TSE timely-disclosure PDF not retrieved; payment terms and the effect of the March 2026 mission re-plan on this contract not disclosed.
- 2025-04-02
NASA Kennedy-Magna Petra Cooperative Research and Development Agreement for MSOLO
NASA reported that it signed a reimbursable Cooperative Research and Development Agreement with Magna Petra on April 2 (2025) under which a second MSOLO mass spectrometer is to fly on a commercial rover selected by Magna Petra, with Magna Petra reimbursing NASA's integration and operations costs.
Sources (2) and evidence gaps
Signed on April 2, the reimbursable agreement is the first of its kind established at NASA Kennedy.
Under the agreement, Magna Petra will reimburse NASA for costs such as supporting MSOLO integration and testing with the rover
- Agreement value not disclosed; year of the 'April 2' signing inferred from the article date (2025-04-28).
Open evidence gaps
- No amended HALO transport agreement, replacement carrier, host mission or flight commitment was found in the reviewed ispace and Magna Petra sources.
- No HALO landing site or confirmed launch vehicle is identified; general references to SpaceX/CLPS providers in the company's undated FAQ are not a specific launch booking.
- Magna Petra's October release claims helium-3 isotope detection; NASA describes measuring low-molecular-weight volatiles to infer isotope presence. Instrument resolving power and a validated isotope-specific measurement method remain unverified.
- Magna Petra's contract article body says October 7, 2025, its blog index says October 5, and ispace's release says October 6. The agreement is therefore described at month precision.
Record history
changes to this record's facts, newest first
Sources
11 excerpts from 8 publicationsOne web address counts as one publication.
ispace-EUROPE and Magna Petra Corp. sign total amount of $22 million USD Payload Service Agreement (PSA) to carry NASA's MSOLO instrument to the lunar surface on the Mission 3 rover.
The Mission 3 rover will fly on ispace technologies U.S.' (ispace-U.S.) APEX 1.0. lunar lander
Under the new agreement, a second MSOLO, mounted on a commercial rover, will launch to the Moon no earlier than 2026.
it will measure low molecular weight volatiles in hopes of inferring the presence of rare isotopes, such as Helium-3
will be allocated to Mission 3, scheduled for launch in 2027
Amendments to the transport contracts with other Mission 3 customers are necessary and will also be revised and updated.
ispace-U.S. has updated its first U.S. mission to 2030
It will first be used for Mission 3, currently planned to launch in 2028.
Draper has mutually agreed with NASA to end the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) task order CP-12.
- [10]FAQ
Reconnaissance missions are scheduled for 2027 and 2028
high-precision detection of volatiles and isotopes—including Helium-3
Cite this record
SpaceMiningData, “Magna Petra HALO (Helium Availability of Lunar Origin) reconnaissance payload”, dataset version a00fa2c68a45, built 2026-11-11, https://spaceminingdata.com/missions/magna-petra-halo.html. Record checked 2026-10-28.