ispace announced on October 22, 2026, that the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency had selected it for conceptual design of a lunar solar-power tower. The proposed system combines solar arrays with an elevated structure for the Moon’s south pole.
The selection announcement covers requirements, specifications, and project planning. ispace said it would finalize contracting arrangements with JAXA before beginning work with partners.
Elevating Solar Arrays Above Polar Shadows
Near the lunar south pole, sunlight arrives at a low angle. A ridge, crater rim, or small rise can obstruct the Sun from the perspective of equipment close to the ground. Raising solar arrays changes that viewing geometry: panels at the top of a mast can remain illuminated when lower equipment is in shadow.
NASA’s BEACON engineering study explains this relationship through analysis of a tower near Shackleton Ridge. The study examined how elevation and local terrain affect access to sunlight and the visibility of surface users. Its site-specific analysis demonstrates why tower height and location are considered together when designing a polar power system.
The operating distinction is between an illuminated array and the equipment receiving its electricity. A rover or instrument can occupy shaded terrain even when an elevated generator has access to sunlight. Electrical distribution then connects the generating location with the place where the energy is used. When the array itself is dark, solar generation stops.
This geometry also explains why a tower is more than a mounting bracket. The structure places the generating surface at a selected height and supports its deployment and orientation. New Space Economy’s explanation of vertical lunar power systems describes how elevation increases access to low-angle sunlight.
Generation and Distribution Form One System
The assignment includes electrical distribution to surface equipment and interfaces with the lunar lander delivering the tower. ispace will help define both within the conceptual design.
NASA’s surface-power technology framework identifies three connected functions: generation, power management and distribution, and energy storage. Generation supplies electrical energy. Management controls how it is delivered, and distribution transfers it to equipment. Storage retains energy for use at another time, such as a period without sunlight.
These functions address different parts of a surface operation. A solar array converts incoming light into electricity, but an instrument or rover consumes electrical power at its own location and according to its operating schedule. Treating generation and delivery together allows a design study to examine the relationship between the source and its users.
Deployable Structures Have an Established Research Basis
NASA’s 2021 vertical-array development initiative provides a documented example of the engineering approach. The agency selected five companies to design arrays that could deploy autonomously to approximately 32 feet and retract for relocation. The design tasks included stability on steep terrain, resistance to abrasive dust, and reduced mass and packaged volume for delivery.
Those objectives connect launch packaging with surface operation. Equipment occupies a compact volume during transportation and then extends after arrival to place its panels at their operating height. Retraction adds the ability to return the structure toward its transport configuration. These were requirements for NASA’s separate research effort, rather than specifications assigned to ispace’s JAXA tower.
NASA’s broader surface-technology program now describes vertical-array work using masts up to 20 meters long. That work supplies relevant technical context for the class of infrastructure JAXA is studying: elevated, deployable solar generation for long-duration surface activities. The Japanese assignment remains focused on defining its own system and delivery interfaces.
The Study’s Development Horizon
According to ispace, JAXA projects surface exploration demand of tens of kilowatts by the early 2030s. This describes projected demand, rather than the tower’s rated output. A kilowatt equals 1,000 watts.
The planning assumption places tower launch in Japanese fiscal year 2030 or later. JAXA intends to use the study to refine its design approach for the following fiscal year and beyond, with ispace defining requirements, specifications, interfaces, and the development plan.
