The European Space Agency says its Argonaut landers will deliver up to 1500 kg of cargo to the Moon, from rovers and science instruments to construction materials. Offloading that freight is the task of a specialised crane developed by Romanian research institute COMOTI with Initium Space, under an ESA Technology Development Element project called Loader.

A scaled model was tested in ESA's Planetary Robotics Laboratory in the Netherlands. According to ESA robotics engineer Gunter Just, the model lifts 30 kg under Earth gravity, equivalent to a little over 180 kg on the Moon. The eventual crane, he said, will be more than twice as big and able to lift up to a tonne in the Moon's weaker gravity, placing cargo up to six metres from the lander — beyond the reach of robotic arms.

COMOTI's Daniel Useriu said the crane will launch folded on the lander's payload deck and deploy on the surface, kept vertical by a levelling system. It ends in passive and battery-powered grippers. Useriu said the team met and in places exceeded initial expectations, while much refinement work remains.