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Astrolab x Interstellar Lab

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With Mission LITTLE PRINCE, Interstellar Lab is looking to grow flowers on the Moon in transparent controlled-environment plant pods and capture data and pictures of this first step towards making any life multi-planetary. The company partnered with Astrolab to install the payloads on the lunar surface with FLEX (Flexible Logistics and Exploration) rover. Mission LITTLE PRINCE will be part of Astrolab’s Mission 1.

As part of Astrolab’s Mission 1, Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) will transport Astrolab’s FLEX rover to the lunar surface. SpaceX will use the Starship launch and landing system for this mission as soon as mid-2026. Following landing on the Moon, FLEX will deploy payloads for Interstellar Lab and other Astrolab customers. SpaceX and Astrolab expect Mission 1 to be completed as soon as mid-2026.

Our entire Astrolab team is excited to welcome Interstellar Lab to Mission 1. Interstellar Lab and the other Mission 1 participants represents a cross-section of the emerging lunar economy.

Jaret Matthews, CEO and Founder (Astrolab)

The primary scientific objective of the mission LITTLE PRINCE is to measure the impact of the lunar environment on plants' phenotype and molecular composition. Interstellar Lab envisions this mission as a significant step toward unlocking space access for terrestrial customers and ultimately establishing a garden on the Moon.

The plant growth system payload, a smaller version of Quark from NUCLEUS, Interstellar Lab's food system winner of NASA’s Deep Space Food Challenge phase 1 and 2, will be a key component of the mission. FLEX, equipped with an advanced robotic arm, will skillfully install the plant pods on the lunar surface, marking a historic moment in lunar exploration and scientific research.

We are very excited to team up with Astrolab for our mission LITTLE PRINCE. As Antoine de Saint-Exupéry said: 'If you love a flower that lives on a star, it is sweet to look at the sky at night. All the stars are a-bloom with flowers.'

Barbara Belvisi, CEO & Founder (Interstellar Lab)

Interstellar Lab looks forward to the success of the mission LITTLE PRINCE and anticipates further initiatives to extend life beyond Earth. The company remains committed to pushing the boundaries of space exploration and fostering a future where life and humanity can thrive beyond our home planet.

About Astrolab

Venturi Astrolab, Inc. (Astrolab) is on a mission to move humanity forward to the next horizon by designing, building, and operating a fleet of multi-purpose rovers for all planetary surface needs. Formed by a highly specialized team of NASA veterans, former SpaceXers and JPL engineers, Astrolab is laser-focused on providing adaptive mobility solutions essential for life beyond Earth. The team has industry leading experience in terrestrial and planetary robotics, electric vehicles, human spaceflight and more. Astrolab’s depth of experience and strategic partnerships with a wide array of world-class institutions, including electric vehicle pioneer Venturi Group, enables the delivery of Lunar and Mars mobility offerings at maximum reliability, flexibility, and cost effectiveness. The company is headquartered in Hawthorne, California. For more information, visit astrolab.space or follow on Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and Instagram.

Astrolab media contact

John Taylor for Astrolab

john@astrolab.space

+1 (571) 437-4685

About Interstellar Lab

Interstellar Lab is an American-French startup founded in 2018 specializing in bio-technologies that develops, builds, and operates biofarming solutions to optimize plant cultivation and molecular composition on Earth and also in space. The highly controlled environment modules developed by Interstellar Lab enable sustainable, high-precision cultivation of high-value-added plants used by the Natural Ingredients, Cosmetics, Pharmaceuticals and Food industries. The company has also developed strategic partnerships with NASA and ESA for plant cultivation and research in microgravity. Based in Ivry-sur-Seine (France) and at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida (USA), Interstellar Lab today has over 30 engineers, scientists, and designers from SpaceX, Airbus, Trimble and Infarm, and is backed by institutional investors. For more information, visit https://interstellarlab.com/space or follow on Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and Instagram.

Interstellar Lab media contact

Appolonia Belvisi

a.belvisi@interstellarlab.earth

+33 6 62 65 38 18