ESA's Lunar Link telecommunications element has completed its final major integration and testing campaign at Thales Alenia Space in Cannes, France, the agency said on 26 October 2026. The system was originally developed for NASA's HALO habitation module on the Gateway to provide communications between the orbiting station and Moon explorers, but reached completion after NASA decided earlier this year to pause work on Gateway. ESA is now studying how Lunar Link's capabilities could be used for future lunar missions.

After antenna testing in March, the full communication system completed its environmental test campaign, and engineers connected it to its two high gain antennas and tested the system together for the first time, including another balloon-assisted deployment test. Over the summer, a team from NASA's Johnson Space Center joined the European team for an end-to-end communications demonstration, bringing racks that simulated a user on the Moon and testing communications including encryption. The demonstration was successful.

In September, ESA and prime contractor Thales Alenia Space began a qualification and acceptance review expected to be completed by the end of this year. After the review and a final software update, the hardware will go into controlled storage in flight-ready condition. In July, ESA issued an invitation to tender for studies on repurposing Lunar Link, including how it could be delivered to lunar orbit and operated as an independent communications relay, possibly in cooperation with ESA's Moonlight programme.