Milano Politecnico di Milano leads the European mission that will observe meteoroid impacts on the far side of the Moon

A small European satellite will continuously observe meteoroid impacts on the far side of the Moon. This is the objective of the LUMIO (Lunar Meteoroid Impacts Observer) mission, an ESA mission led by Politecnico di Milano through the DART Lab of the Department of Aerospace Science and Technology.

The Kick-Off Meeting held on 2 March 2026 marked the start of Phase C of the mission, the implementation phase that will lead to the development of the satellite’s main subsystems and the detailed design of the mission. The project is part of ESA’s General Support Technology Programme (GSTP) and is primarily supported by the Italian Space Agency (ASI), with the participation of the space agencies of Norway (NOSA), the United Kingdom (UKSA) and Sweden (SNSA).

The LUMIO mission will use a 12U CubeSat, a satellite weighing about 30 kilograms, which will operate in a halo orbit around the Earth-Moon L2 Lagrangian point. From this privileged position, it will be able to continuously observe the far side of the Moon, detecting the flashes generated by meteoroid impacts on the lunar surface. These observations will complement those carried out from Earth on the visible side of the Moon and will contribute to improving models of meteoroid distribution in the cislunar environment -an important aspect also for future lunar exploration missions.

The satellite will be equipped with LUMIO-Cam, an optical instrument operating in the visible and near-infrared capable of detecting impact flashes. The system will process the data directly on board, transmitting to Earth only the scientifically relevant information.

The European mission consortium is led by Politecnico di Milano and includes Argotec, responsible for the design, integration and testing of the satellite platform; Leonardo, developer of the LUMIO-Cam instrument; IMT for the transponder and solar panels; Nautilus for flight dynamics; S&T Norway for scientific data processing; Lift Me Off for the propulsion system; and ECAPS for the thrusters.

“Through LUMIO, Politecnico di Milano coordinates a European consortium in the development of a deep-space mission” comments Francesco Topputo, Principal Investigator of the mission. “It recognises the capability of the university to work with scientific and industrial partners in developing innovative technologies for lunar exploration.”

During Phase C, the mission’s main subsystems will be developed in detail - including the satellite platform, scientific payload, propulsion system, ground segment and navigation - in preparation for the Critical Design Review scheduled for 2027.

LUMIO mission at a glance

Objective
To observe and characterise meteoroid impacts on the far side of the Moon, improving meteoroid flux models and contributing to knowledge of the cislunar environment.

Satellite
12U CubeSat (about 30 kg) equipped with LUMIO-Cam, on-board data processing system, X-band transponder, deployable solar panels and miniaturised chemical propulsion.

Orbit
Halo orbit around the Earth-Moon L2 Lagrangian point, enabling continuous observation of the lunar surface.

Programme
ESA mission within the GSTP - Fly Element programme, supported by ASI with participation from the space agencies of Norway, the United Kingdom and Sweden.