The Máni mission, named after the goddess of the Moon in Norse mythology, will explore the Moon by observing it with unprecedented resolution. It is being carried out by a Danish and international consortium (Poland, Slovenia, the Netherlands, and France) and is scheduled to launch and begin scientific operations in 2029. A team from Geops (Paris-Saclay University/CNRS) is involved in the project. It will be responsible for producing the data processing software and will participate in selecting areas of interest on the Moon.
On Tuesday, December 16, 2025, the ESA announced the selection of Máni, a new space mission dedicated to observing the Moon. Máni is a satellite that will map the surface of the Moon using high-resolution images and create detailed 3D maps of the lunar terrain. This data will be essential for ensuring a safe Moon landing and for navigating astronauts and lunar rovers during potential future missions to the Moon.
For the first time from lunar orbit, images will be acquired with 20 cm resolution. The other major innovation of the mission is the ability to observe the Moon from multiple geometries, to scrutinize our satellite from every angle. Máni will provide new and valuable information that will facilitate the planning of human and robotic exploration of the Moon[1], reduce the risks associated with landing on the Moon, and facilitate its scientific exploration.
Through photometric analysis, sub-pixel information will be produced to determine the properties of the surface at the micrometer scale. Due to the probabilistic nature of the new data processing used, the mission’s data products will all be accompanied by a measure of their confidence level. This means that future missions will be able to select, for example, landing sites that not only should meet the mission’s requirements, but also have a high level of confidence in meeting those requirements, reducing risks and increasing the chances of mission success.
3D maps of the Moon with unprecedented resolution
The Máni mission will also be the first to use a targeted multi-angle photoklinometric mapping approach to map key regions of interest on the lunar surface. The goal is to acquire orbital images of the lunar surface, including polar regions, with the highest possible resolution, in a wide range of observation geometries. From these images, Máni will provide detailed maps of topography and reflectance properties with a resolution similar to that of the images. The data acquired on how light is reflected by areas of the Moon will be used to study the microphysical characteristics of the Moon (roughness, porosity, texture). This knowledge will also help us to better calibrate terrestrial space instruments that use the Moon as a calibration target, in order to better understand the evolution of the Earth’s climate.
The Máni mission is the result of an international scientific consortium led by the University of Copenhagen, bringing together Danish and international research institutes and industrial partners. The Danish company Space Inventor is the main industrial partner of the mission. It will build the satellite and install the instruments and components supplied by the Polish, Dutch, and Slovenian industrial partners of the mission. Academic partners include Aalborg University, Aarhus University, and the University of Southern Denmark, as well as the Danish Meteorological Institute (DMI) and the Polish Academy of Sciences (Polska Akademia Nauk).
The University of Paris-Saclay is participating in this mission by contributing the general expertise in planetology of its scientists from the Paris-Saclay Geosciences Laboratory (GEOPS – Univ. Paris-Saclay / CNRS) as well as their technical expertise in the study of planetary surfaces using photometry and photoclinometry methods. In particular, they will be responsible for producing the data processing software and will participate in the selection of areas of interest on the Moon.
More info: https://www.esa.int/
Scientific contact in France: frederic.schmidt@universite-paris-saclay.fr Professor of Planetology – Paris-Saclay Geosciences Laboratory (Geops- Univ. Paris-Saclay / CNRS)
Press contact in France: gaelle.degrez@universite-paris-saclay.fr
[1] Including NASA’s Artemis III mission with the return of astronauts to the surface, near the Moon’s South Pole.
Crédit Space Inventor
