Author: Scanway
Publication date:
Scanway is launching a partnership with the American company Intuitive Machines. As part of the order received yesterday, the Polish company will supply an optical instrument for mapping the Moon’s surface. The mission featuring the Scanway telescope is scheduled to launch by the end of 2025. This is the first commercial order in the history of the Polish space sector in which a Polish company will supply an optical instrument for a lunar exploration mission. Intuitive Machines is a U.S. company listed on NASDAQ with a market capitalization of approximately $1.9 billion (as of December 19, 2024).
- Intuitive Machines made history as the first private company to successfully land on the Moon in 2024. Today, it supports lunar missions and is developing the lunar economy as a commercial space services provider and a key contractor for NASA.
- Lunar exploration is one of the space sector’s top priorities for strategic and geopolitical reasons, and the U.S. and China plan to return humans to the Moon by 2030. Investment in lunar missions is expected to rise from $11 billion in 2023 to nearly $17 billion annually by 2032, according to Euroconsult’s report “Prospects for Space Exploration.”
- Scanway S.A. is expanding beyond the field of Earth observation. The company aims to participate in a growing number of lunar missions over the next decade and become a key player in this promising market and its value chain.
– The plan to establish a permanent human presence on the Moon is driving global investment in crewed, observational, and robotic missions that will build orbital and transportation infrastructure. Scanway is making history for the Polish space sector—next year, a telescope developed and delivered by our team will fly to the Moon aboard a U.S. private satellite – comments Jędrzej Kowalewski, President of the Management Board of Scanway S.A. On the one hand, this is a major milestone for us, as we are expanding our portfolio with solutions that go beyond the field of Earth Observation (EO); on the other hand, we are once again demonstrating our expertise in advanced optical instruments. Our proposal was selected from among global competitors. We are therefore joining forces with yet another industry leader, this time in the field of lunar exploration. We aim to be one of the key partners in the growing number of lunar missions over the next decade and to become a vital link in this promising market and its value chain. – adds Jędrzej Kowalewski.
Polish-American Moon Exploration
The order, received on December 19, 2024, is part of Intuitive Machines’ Lunar Data Network (LDN) initiative, which supports the development of a comprehensive lunar infrastructure for future missions to the Moon and further space exploration. The telescope supplied by Scanway will be used to map the Moon, including the detection of minerals on its surface using optical technology (Scanway’s optical payload will be part of the first satellite launched as part of the Lunar Data Network). The Intuitive Machines satellite, equipped with a modified version of one of the Company’s telescopes currently under development, will orbit the Moon in an elliptical orbit at distances ranging from 500 km to 2,800 km from the Moon’s surface.
Intuitive Machines is a leading American company specializing in space exploration and the construction of lunar infrastructure. It specializes in building advanced lunar landers, cis-lunar communication systems, and developing navigation services for space missions. In February 2024, it made history as the first private organization to land on the Moon. The company’s vision is to support the commercialization of space through innovative technologies and collaboration with the private and public sectors. Intuitive Machines is developing infrastructure that opens up new possibilities for the exploration of the Moon, space, and future interplanetary missions.
The American company plays a key role in NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program, having secured three contracts to deliver payloads to the Moon’s surface: IM-1 (completed), IM-2 (2025), and IM-3 (2026). In September 2024, the company signed a contract with NASA worth up to $4.82 billion to provide communication and navigation services for missions in near-space, covering the area from Earth’s surface to space beyond the Moon. The company is listed on NASDAQ, with a market capitalization of approximately $1.9 billion (as of December 18, 2024), and its stock price has risen by approximately +400%.
– Preparing the telescope for a lunar mission is a technologically demanding undertaking that requires precise compliance with environmental and functional specifications. This is a significant step in adapting our products for operation beyond low Earth orbit. In the case of the order from Intuitive Machines, an additional challenge is the time pressure—the instrument must be ready and shipped aboard a U.S. satellite by the end of 2025 to begin observing the Moon. By conducting a detailed analysis of the requirements and referencing the project against more than 50 optical systems previously developed by Scanway with diverse parameters and applications, we were able to shorten the research and development process. Drawing on our experience with athermalized mirror telescopes, we will deliver a proprietary multispectral solution that meets the mission’s requirements. – says Michał Zięba, Chief Technology Officer at Scanway S.A.
The fulfillment of this order will have a positive impact on Scanway’s financial results in 2025, with an expected value in the range of several hundred thousand USD. The collaboration with Intuitive Machines may be expanded in the future, including with the support of European and/or national institutions, to deploy additional instruments on new IM satellites bound for the Moon.
Scanway S.A. has been actively supporting the development of the space economy for several years. The company’s optical solutions have been incorporated into the most important European and Polish space missions of 2024. The company is executing some of the largest contracts in the country for space equipment (including for commercial clients) and is a consortium partner in key space projects in Poland (including EagleEye and PIAST). The company deployed its equipment (the Scanway Camera System) on this year’s maiden flight of Europe’s largest launch vehicle—the Ariane 6.
The Growing Role of the Lunar Economy
To date, only five countries have successfully landed on the Moon: Russia, the United States, China, and, in 2023–2024, India and Japan as well. In February 2024, Intuitive Machines made history as the first private organization to successfully land on the Moon, marking the U.S.’s return to the lunar surface after more than 50 years of absence. The U.S. (the Artemis program, which will utilize, among other things, Elon Musk’s Starship) and China (the ILRS program) have already officially announced plans for a crewed lunar landing before 2030, while Russia, India, and Japan are also expressing interest in lunar exploration.
According to a Euroconsult report, investment in lunar missions is expected to rise from $11 billion in 2023 to nearly $17 billion in 2032. Over the next decade, the number of space exploration missions is projected to more than triple to 751, with lunar missions accounting for a significant 31% share. These missions will be carried out by: government agencies (46% of missions), commercial entities (35% of missions), and scientific and academic institutions (19% of missions).
– Today, we no longer fly to the Moon just to plant our flag and come back. Today, we are preparing to establish a permanent human presence on the Moon, and the winner will be whoever accomplishes this faster and more effectively. In the first phase, government and private investments are focused on transportation and communications services, which will enable regular missions to the Moon and proper navigation. Other elements include crewed missions, the gradual construction of orbital infrastructure, and further technology demonstrations, including ISRU (In-Situ Resource Utilization), which allows for the extraction and use of raw materials directly on site. Just as on Earth, imaging technologies will play a major role on the Moon as well, and, more importantly, Scanway will play its part in building this component of the lunar economy. We hope that, alongside the EO (Earth Observation) domain, this will become another key component of our offering in the future. “—explains Mikołaj Podgórski, COO and co-founder of Scanway S.A.”
About Scanway:
Scanway S.A. is a Polish company that has been in business for 8 years. It is one of only a dozen or so companies worldwide to have developed a complete line of optoelectronic products for Earth observation from orbit. The company carries out key contracts—among the largest in Poland—for space equipment, including for commercial clients. It also operates STAR VIBE, Poland’s longest-operating optical observation satellite.
Scanway S.A. specializes in the optical processing chain, which includes: the acquisition, processing, and analysis of image data, as well as the prediction of events based on that data. In the Space business segment, the company provides both hardware solutions (optical instruments, such as telescopes and cameras) and imaging analytics. In the Industry segment, it offers solutions (products) based on image data processing, including complete quality control systems. The Company’s expertise and experience in both fields are complementary and create synergies. The company strives to provide its customers with full access to key optical data, which today is driving the development of the global space industry to the greatest extent.
Scanway’s optical solutions were featured in the most important European and Polish space missions of 2024. It was the only Polish company to include its equipment (the Scanway Camera System) on the maiden flight of Europe’s largest launch vehicle—Ariane 6. The company also supplied a key component—Poland’s largest-ever telescope, weighing approximately 10 kg (SOP200)—for EagleEye, the largest satellite Poland has ever launched into space.
The company has completed over 40 quality control implementations in the industrial sector. As a technology partner for the sector’s largest manufacturers, it develops proprietary software solutions using AI and advanced applications for Industry 4.0.
In October 2023, the Company made its debut on the NewConnect market. It has fully achieved the goals announced in its initial public offering and is currently preparing to move to the Main Market of the Warsaw Stock Exchange. For more information:
https://scanway.pl/ and https://scanway.space/
Media Contact
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k.zadlo@scanway.pl
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Mardoniusz Maćkowiak
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