A small Hungarian company received more than one billion to find water on the surface of the Moon

In this case, it is really not an exaggeration that Hungarian scientific life has reached another historical milestone: the Hungarian Puli Space Technologies is the first private company to have entered into a deep space research and data purchase contract with a space agency. And it can only mean another great chance for humanity, that within the framework of this agreement, the European Space Agency (ESA) will be able to obtain valuable data about where there is water as a result of the research of Puli’s NASA award-winning lunar water sniffer (Puli Lunar Water Snooper, PLWS) on the moon.

The founder of Puli Space, Tibor Pacher, announced at the company’s office in Budapest that in December an agreement was reached with ESA, which finances the American, also private company, Intuitive Machines, on February 27 this year (the launch window is until March 2 will be open) to send the Hungarian probe to the moon with SpaceX’s Falcon9, with the unusual task of sniffing out water (ice water, more precisely find hydrogen) at a depth of one meter below the surface of the Moon.

The Micro Nova Hopper with a water sniffer

Image: Economx

Tibor Pacher recalled that the Moon is close, so for example researchers can test the technical conditions for landing on Mars there, and on the other hand, for science, our companion can even provide answers about our Solar System. Of course, one of the most important aspects would still be the possible extraction of raw materials and rare metals found on the Moon. No matter how technology develops, any treasure on Earth is finite, but the solar system is infinite, and this journey can be started on the moon, he explained.

And what can be mined?

One of the most exciting raw materials found on the Moon is water.

There are no bubbling streams, but satellite measurements have proven that it is frozen in the ground. If we can extract it, then, for example, the next space missions will not have to take water with them, and water can be separated into its constituent elements by electrolysis, from which we can make fuel. If we can find enough water on the Moon, then we can refuel the probes – pointed out the Hungarian researcher, but for this we need to carry out research in the craters, which have been in the shadow for billions of years, where the temperature is minus 200 degrees Celsius.

Interestingly, the Moon missions not only risk the water supply, but also Helium 3, as the isotope could be used to cool the data centers serving the computer capacity of artificial intelligence. Currently, 1.5 percent of the world’s energy production is spent on the operation of AIs, and this proportion is obviously increasing.

380 grams of science

380 grams of science

Image: Economx

The United States’ space agency, NASA, has outsourced certain parts of lunar exploration to the private sector, among other things, to help American industry. Commercial companies carry out NASA’s mandate, and the selected company can share its capacity with other companies. So did Intuitive Machines, but getting into a space cargo is extremely expensive.

The water sniffer of Budapest-based Puli Space was originally created with a $260,000 grant from NASA, but the three completed structures have been gathering dust on the shelves of the American space agency since 2022.

Let’s sniff!

The collaboration between Hungarian Puli Space Technologies and Intuitive Machines is the first attempt to map the water ice concentration on the surface of the Moon. Intuitive Machines’ commercial mission uses Puli Space’s NASA award-winning miniature neutron spectrometer, the Puli Lunar Water Snooper (PLWS), which measures just 10x10x3.4 cm and weighs 380 grams. This device was placed on Intuitive Machines’ unique autonomous rocket-powered drone called the Micro Nova Hopper. The drone will explore the environment of permanently shadowed areas around the Moon’s south pole, and plans to be the first to land in such a shadowy crater.

At the same time, this device, which is lighter than 400 grams, could have been sent to the Moon on its own for 1.7 million dollars, and since NASA fell asleep, the American private company that organizes the Moon expedition came into the picture, with the Hungarian development on it, which the European Space Agency collects data.

Americans are satisfied

“Intuitive Machines is proud to help advance commercial lunar exploration by providing the essential transportation, mobility and data services needed to make bold lunar ambitions a reality,” Trent Martin, Intuitive Machines, said in a statement about the expedition. Vice President for Space Research Systems.

He then stated that their partnership with Puli Space Technologies, in the framework of which Puli’s Water Sniffer will be transported to the Moon on board the Micro Nova Hopper, is a great example of how such infrastructure solutions can support pioneering research in one of the most difficult environments on the Moon. “The valuable data we collect from the permanently shadowed regions will be sent back to Earth for the European Space Agency, thereby expanding the possibilities of lunar exploration and contributing to the foundation of future lunar commercial partnerships,” said the American researcher.

The contract was signed by Puli Space and the European Space Agency at the beginning of December, and Economx also learned that its value is 2.6 million euros, which is used to pay the freight fee, but remains for the Hungarian company as well. This sum, equivalent to more than one billion forints, is the first data purchase that the space agency has made in connection with a deep space expedition. The Falcon 9 is expected to take off from Florida on February 27, and the lander will reach the surface of the Moon on March 6 or 7. From there, we just have to wait for the signs – said Tibor Pacher, adding: the mission will last for a week.

Tibor Pacher, founder of Puli Space, in front of the water sniffer

Image: Economx

The rocket-powered drone itself is an experiment, the Intuitive Machines spacecraft will jump like a grasshopper, five times to be exact. The first jump will be only 20 meters, but the second is already 100 meters. The most important will be his fourth jump, when he lands in the unnamed H Crater. Minus 200 degrees Celsius prevails in the permanently shadowed crater (“Permanently Shadowed Crater”), the area of ​​which the Puli water sniffer can provide the first ever direct surface measurement data, which will have three quarters of an hour to find traces of water.

The lander will send the data to Puli Spaces, and Hungarian researchers will interpret them with ESA staff. It’s also good news that

according to the contract, the space agency must make the extracted information public in the next one year,

so we will soon know what opportunities we have on the moon.

We also learned that Puli Space can currently manufacture such a water-sniffing device in 4-6 months, if someone finances it. In any case, your business value is likely to increase if the breakthrough succeeds. And let’s just quietly add that there is no Hungarian state money in the project.

Source: www.economx.hu