Aureon Space Systems
Tokyo-based start-up (legal name 株式会社オーレオンスペースシステムズ, Aureon Space Systems Inc.; founded October 2025, according to its website) that says it is developing a linear-motor 'mass driver', a propulsion system meant to eject asteroid or lunar material as reaction mass so that spacecraft carry no propellant from Earth, with the stated aim of moving asteroids and their resources to where they can be used. ESRIC selected it in May 2026 for Phase I of the sixth batch of its Start-up Support Programme, describing the project as mass propulsion and in-situ resource extraction by melting asteroid material, and NEDO's July 2026 list of NEP grant recipients includes its R&D on a mass-propulsion recovery system for asteroid resources. It has flown no hardware; its demonstration dates are company targets.
An organization's level is recorded separately and is not a ranking of its linked missions' results. How the ladder works.
Resources and evidence
Each resource shows the highest step primary sources support. How the ladder works.
| Resource | Evidence | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Claimed | says it will |
Demonstrated
None confirmed by a primary record. The company says (news post listed 10 August 2026) that it has completed a mass-driver demonstration unit intended for ground tests of launch speed and direction accuracy, carrier recovery, continuous operation and heat balance; no test results were published in the sources reviewed, and no flight hardware exists.
Claimed or planned
Aureon says it is developing and demonstrating a linear motor mass driver, 'an architecture that generates thrust using material sourced in space, without consuming fuel carried from Earth'; its Japanese home page says the mass driver ejects asteroid or lunar-surface material itself and uses the reaction as thrust (unofficial translation), and that it aims to move asteroids to positions where humanity can use them. Schedule claims differ by page: the English home page targets 'demonstration in 2027 and in-space demonstration in 2029', while the Japanese home page names ground demonstration, a 2029 in-orbit demonstration and 2031 asteroid exploration and demonstration missions. ESRIC's SSP6 Phase I listing describes the project as 'a novel approach to mass propulsion and in-situ resource extraction by melting asteroid material and using it to generate thrust, enabling large-scale resource return without carrying propellant from Earth'; the company pages reviewed do not mention melting. NEDO's 2026 NEP 'Yakushin course 3000' grant-recipient list (decision announced 13 July 2026; 32 recipients from 241 applications) names the company's project as research and development of a mass-propulsion recovery system for asteroid resources; the grant amount is not stated in the sources read.
Facts
- Headquarters
- Japan
- Type
- Company
- Founded
- 2025
- Status
- Activeas of 2026-09-21. Recent dated activity: a company news post dated 21 September 2026 announcing its selection for a Tokyo metropolitan SME-support programme for North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany; NEDO's grant-recipient list published with its 13 July 2026 decision; and ESRIC's SSP6 Phase I selection (Startup Luxembourg republication dated 19 May 2026; the company's own post page displays no reliable date). Not a corporate-register check (Japan's National Tax Agency corporate-number search could not be read).
- Roles
- Extraction, Processing / ISRU
- Targets
- Other
- Also known as
- Aureon Space Systems Inc.; 株式会社オーレオンスペースシステムズ
- Website
- aureon-inc.com
Open evidence gaps
- Corporate registration not read: Japan's National Tax Agency corporate-number search returned only its search form to the fetch tool, so the corporate number and registration date are unconfirmed. Legal identity rests on the company site and on NEDO's recipient list naming 株式会社オーレオンスペースシステムズ; the October 2025 founding date is stated only by the company.
- Mechanism wording differs: ESRIC describes 'melting asteroid material and using it to generate thrust', while the company describes a linear-motor mass driver that ejects asteroid or lunar material as reaction mass and NEDO lists a 'mass-propulsion recovery system for asteroid resources'. Both describe asteroid material used as reaction mass instead of Earth propellant, but no company page reviewed mentions melting; whether melting is part of the design is unresolved.
- Demonstration schedule is company-stated and inconsistent between pages: the English home page says demonstration in 2027 and in-space demonstration in 2029; the Japanese home page says ground demonstration, in-orbit demonstration in 2029 and asteroid exploration/demonstration missions in 2031. No launch contract, rideshare booking or manifest was found.
- The mass-driver demonstration unit's completion (company post) has no published test results or independent confirmation.
- Which asteroids (near-Earth, main-belt, a named body) the company targets is not stated in any source read; target_bodies is therefore 'other'. The specific resource is not named beyond asteroid material/rock, so resources uses 'other' (claimed).
- NEDO grant amount, ESRIC Phase I outcome (whether Aureon advanced to Phase II, which requires a Luxembourg-registered venture), and the undisclosed angel round (company post dated 1 June 2026, not read) are unverified.
Sources
18 excerpts from 9 publicationsOne web address counts as one publication.
Aureon Space Systems (Japan)
Developing a novel approach to mass propulsion and in-situ resource extraction by melting asteroid material
and using it to generate thrust, enabling large-scale resource return without carrying propellant from Earth.
Aureon Space Systems (Japan)
小惑星資源の質量推進型回収システムの研究開発
外部有識者による書面審査、採択審査委員会において厳正な審査を行い、241件の応募から32件の補助金交付予定先を決定いたしました。
We are developing and demonstrating our linear motor mass driver.
An architecture that generates thrust using material sourced in space, without consuming fuel carried from Earth.
We are accelerating development toward demonstration in 2027 and in-space demonstration in 2029.
October 2025
Aureon Space Systems Inc.
私たちのマスドライバーは、小惑星や月面の物質そのものを射出し、その反作用を推進力とします。
地上での実証を行い、2029年の軌道上実証、2031年の小惑星探査、実証ミッションに向けて開発を加速しています。
株式会社オーレオンスペースシステムズは、人類が生活できる発展した宇宙社会を実現するため、太陽系全体での宇宙資源の活用を目指すエンジニアリング企業です。
東京都中央区日本橋室町1-2-6
日本企業として初めて採択
マスドライバー デモ機の開発が完了しました
オーレオン、ドイツNRW州ハンズオン支援プログラムに採択
Cite this record
SpaceMiningData, “Aureon Space Systems”, dataset version a00fa2c68a45, built 2026-11-11, https://spaceminingdata.com/organizations/aureon-space-systems.html. Record checked 2026-10-30.