Azernews.Az

by Alimat Aliyeva

Toulouse-based Venturi Space has announced plans to invest €250 million in the development of a new technology center dedicated to designing advanced systems for future lunar and Martian missions, AzerNEWS reports.

The facility will be located in central Toulouse and will cover an area of approximately 16,000 square meters. It is expected to become a major European hub for space mobility innovation. The center will focus on developing key technologies such as energy management systems, high-durability elastic tires, and next-generation high-performance batteries. It will also handle the final assembly of astromobiles and spacecraft.

According to Dr. Antonio Delfino, Director of Space Projects at Venturi Space, the new site will serve as the company’s primary technological base in Europe.

“This center will become the flagship project of Venturi Space in Europe,” he emphasized.

The company is also strengthening its international partnerships. Its CLV-1 astromobile, developed in cooperation with the U.S. company Venturi Astrolab, has already been selected by NASA and is expected to be deployed for use by astronauts on the lunar surface starting in 2028.

In June 2025, Venturi Space also presented its lunar lander, Mona Luna, which was fully designed and developed in Europe. The project is seen as part of a broader effort to establish an independent European capability in lunar exploration technologies.

Beyond engineering, the new Toulouse center is expected to include testing facilities that simulate extreme lunar conditions, such as vacuum chambers, temperature cycling systems, and regolith-like terrain simulators. These environments will allow engineers to test how vehicles and batteries perform under harsh space conditions before deployment.

Experts note that such developments are part of a growing global “lunar economy” race, where both public agencies and private companies are preparing infrastructure for long-term human presence on the Moon—potentially including resource extraction and permanent research bases.