ispace and South Korea's UEL Sign Payload Service Agreement (PSA) to Transport Two-Wheeled Lunar Exploration Rover on 2028 Lunar Landing Mission
ispace signed a Payload Service Agreement with South Korea's UEL to transport the ultra-small lunar rover 'SCARAB' to the Moon on its Mission 3 in 2028, marking Korea's first lunar rover mission.
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- 📰 Published: March 31, 2026 at 23:00
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ispace, inc. (Chuo-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director: Takeshi Hakamada; hereinafter "ispace") (Securities code: 9348) announced today that it has signed a payload service agreement with Unmanned Exploration Laboratory (hereinafter "UEL"), a South Korean space robotics and space exploration company, to transport South Korea's first two-wheeled lunar exploration rover to the lunar surface. Under this agreement, ispace plans to integrate the two-wheeled lunar rover developed by UEL as a payload on its new lander model "ULTRA" and transport it to the Moon during its upcoming Mission 3 (formerly Mission 4), scheduled for 2028.
The "SCARAB," a two-wheeled lunar exploration rover developed by UEL, is an ultra-small rover weighing approximately 2 kg. Its main objective in this mission is to establish space heritage through technology demonstration. The primary mission of the first unit is to acquire image data during the lunar day. The SCARAB rover, utilizing a "Lander Selfie Rover" configuration with two cameras, will photograph the lander and its payloads, generating high-precision 3D images to verify the entire lunar exploration system.
In addition, the SCARAB rover can carry payloads up to approximately 200g. The rover will be deployed on the lunar surface using a simple "quick-release" mechanism; this design eliminates complex structures and achieves overall weight reduction. The rover is expected to play an important role in early technology demonstrations for South Korea's future lunar exploration missions.
ispace and UEL signed their first memorandum of understanding (MOU) for this mission in October 2024 and began discussions. Subsequently, in October 2025, they signed an interim payload service agreement to transport up to two two-wheeled lunar exploration rovers developed by UEL to the lunar surface, leading to this formal agreement. This agreement demonstrates the deepening relationship between the two companies, representing the culmination of Japan-South Korea collaboration built over approximately two years.
*1 Related press releases: https://ispace-inc.com/jpn/news/?p=6212 , https://ispace-inc.com/jpn/news/?p=7938
Going forward, ispace and UEL will continue to consider transportation contracts for subsequent lunar rovers in future lunar missions, aiming to jointly develop the cislunar economy and expand lunar surface mobility services.
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The "SCARAB," a two-wheeled lunar exploration rover developed by UEL, is an ultra-small rover weighing approximately 2 kg. Its main objective in this mission is to establish space heritage through technology demonstration. The primary mission of the first unit is to acquire image data during the lunar day. The SCARAB rover, utilizing a "Lander Selfie Rover" configuration with two cameras, will photograph the lander and its payloads, generating high-precision 3D images to verify the entire lunar exploration system.
In addition, the SCARAB rover can carry payloads up to approximately 200g. The rover will be deployed on the lunar surface using a simple "quick-release" mechanism; this design eliminates complex structures and achieves overall weight reduction. The rover is expected to play an important role in early technology demonstrations for South Korea's future lunar exploration missions.
ispace and UEL signed their first memorandum of understanding (MOU) for this mission in October 2024 and began discussions. Subsequently, in October 2025, they signed an interim payload service agreement to transport up to two two-wheeled lunar exploration rovers developed by UEL to the lunar surface, leading to this formal agreement. This agreement demonstrates the deepening relationship between the two companies, representing the culmination of Japan-South Korea collaboration built over approximately two years.
*1 Related press releases: https://ispace-inc.com/jpn/news/?p=6212 , https://ispace-inc.com/jpn/news/?p=7938
Going forward, ispace and UEL will continue to consider transportation contracts for subsequent lunar rovers in future lunar missions, aiming to jointly develop the cislunar economy and expand lunar surface mobility services.
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