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As the United States has decided to return to the Moon and is preparing to land the first humans on Mars, the Artemis program and American strategy Moon to Mars usher in a new era of scientific discovery and technological advancement. This new golden age of human and robotic exploration, now well under way following the success of the Artemis I mission last November, will be marked by a multitude of manned missions on the surface of the Moon. Cnes obviously wants to participate and hopes that a French astronaut can set foot on the lunar ground within ten years explains Nicolas Maubert, Space Advisor and Cnes representative at the French Embassy in the United States.
To date, France participates in the Artemis program mainly through its contribution to the European Space Agency (ESA). Europe is a major contributor to Artemis with the supply of the I-Hab and Esprit Gateway modules (for which France is the prime contractor) and most certainly the Argonaute heavy lander, as well as communication and lunar navigation (Moonlight program). For their part, the Canadians will provide robotic arms, and the Japanese a supply cargo ship and a pressurized lunar rover. These foreign participations in the Artemis program act as counterparties with NASA to negotiate the presence of astronauts on board the Gateway and on the Moon. As such, Jeremy Hansen, Canadian astronaut, will be part of the Artemis II crew scheduled for launch at the end of 2024, with three Americans.
Cnes also participates in partnership with NASA in lunar robotic missions forerunners of human spaceflight. The French space agency will thus send two scientific instruments to the Moon aboard a NASA lander in 2025. This cooperation is essential for “ to take part to this new era which is opening up in the scientific, technical and also economic fields “, would like to underline Nicolas Maubert. And he adds ” wish that this French involvement could contribute to the selection of a French astronaut to carry out a mission on the Moon which will necessarily be carried out within the framework of the European Space Agency in partnership with NASA ».
“A “political will for Thomas Pesquet to walk on the Moon””
Today in France, there is a ” political will for Thomas Pesquet to walk on the Moon “, however, it should be remembered that Thomas is certainly French, but he is above all a “ astronaut of the European Astronaut Corps of the European Space Agency and that in the end the choice will fall to the latter “. Due to its contributions in the Gateway, the ESA has actually negotiated ” three astronaut flights on Artemis missions and would like one of its three astronauts to be able to walk on the Moon “. As announced by the Director General of ESA, the three European astronauts who will fly on board these Artemis missions should come from the class of 2009 – that of Thomas – and probably chosen from among the Member States which contribute the most to the budget of the ESA. Namely, Germany, Italy and France therefore.
Moon objective for Cnes
Earlier this year, NASA’s Inspector General called for better coordination of international partners in the Artemis program. For NASA, the goal is to reduce the costs of the program borne by the United States while ensuring system redundancy and resilience. In parallel with this announcement, NASA is also engaged in a process of consolidating the architecture of the Artemis missions from II to V. This consolidation will be presented during the 38e Space Symposium scheduled for April 17-21 in Colorado Springs. For the international partners of the Americans, these announcements are far from trivial. ” We are following this closely, aware that this represents major opportunities for our scientists, our industrialists and our astronauts. »
French involvement in this lunar surface architecture is under discussion, but ” several programs are already in place to support and finance the‘It isFrench Newspace ecosystem focused on the lunar economy “recalls Nicolas Maubert. This is an interesting entry point for France, which could provide NASA with a ” certain number of basic technological bricks for its lunar architecture, useful and essential for the installation and the lasting presence of Man on the Moon » in fields related to energy, mobility, food, health (telemedicine), smart housing (recycling of air and waste water), additive manufacturing of spare parts or production of food. The Cnes has already started the financing of several projects within the framework of the incubator TechTheMoon “. Examples include Metis, which detects microcracks in astronaut equipment, Orius Technologies, which produces plants in the space environment, Spartan Space, which manufactures an inflatable and mobile habitat adapted to conditions on the Moon, and the Exploration Company, which is developing an orbital vehicle. lunar, which will also provide transport on the surface of the Moon.
The advent of a more economic dimension of space conquest
Added to this is that with the creation of a commercial ecosystem around the Moon, encouraged by NASA, there is a “ economic interest in investing in the Moon so as not to let the United States, or other countries, control all these subjects “, he specifies. By initiating or financing the development of new technologies, Cnes can “ help and encourage start-ups and manufacturers, whether in the space sector or not, to settle in these future markets, certainly niche but very strategic in logistics, space transport, telecommunications, navigation, astronaut accommodation or, for example, smart homes. These technologies developed for the Moon, “ could also find many outlets on Earth, mainly in housing, resource management and energy management, for example ».
Mars in focus
Finally, one of the justifications of the Artemis program is to ” prepare a manned mission to Mars », would like to remind Nicolas Maubert. On its own, the Artemis program does not not enough to prepare human missions on Mars. Eestablishing a sustainable and secure human presence on the surface of the moon is necessary for learning to live independently on another planet, but not sufficient “. The challenges posed by a manned trip to Mars are disproportionate to those of the Artemis program, which is still far from allowing a permanent installation on the Moon. A historic partner in NASA’s robotic Mars exploration program, Cnes does not ” is therefore not prohibited from developing lunar products also sized for Mars or from initiating programs specific to the human presence on Mars “. Such a mission, which is not seriously considered before the 2040s, will be decided only after the ” removal of many uncertainties and technological obstacles for which Cnes could provide solutions and its expertise in various areas including the use of resources on sitepower generation and ground operations, e.g. ».
This involvement and this expertise are as much “ assets in favor of our French astronauts, in particular Thomas Pesquet who has good press on this side of the Atlantic, is well liked by NASA and even by Kamala Harris, the vice-president of the United States “. Essential assets to hope to see it one day set foot on the lunar soil, in the face of competition and lobbying from other major European space players.