A mock-up of the European Service Module (ESM) at the Airbus Espace assembly site in Bremen on February 9, 2023 in Germany (AFP/FOCKE STRANGMANN)
That the first European to walk on the Moon in the next few years is no longer science fiction thanks to the Artemis mission, piloted by NASA, and its Orion spaceship.
For the first time, the United States has entrusted the European Space Agency (ESA) and the aeronautical giant Airbus with the responsibility of a critical system for the success of a future manned mission.
In exchange, the Europeans have three guaranteed seats on mission flights, probably from 2027, even if discussions are underway to get a ticket earlier.
The role of Europeans is essential. They provide “half of the space vehicle that will bring men back to the Moon and, of course, bring them back to Earth in complete safety”, summarizes Marc Steckling, head of space exploration at Airbus.
– First lady –
The stakes are high: the return of man to the Moon, about 50 years after the last Apollo mission.
The Artemis mission must thus prove that NASA and Europeans are still capable of competing with China and SpaceX, which each carry out their own programs.
The European module Orion 4 (ESM-4) at the Airbus Espace assembly site in Bremen on February 9, 2023 in Germany (AFP / FOCKE STRANGMANN)
The Europeans have started to supply service modules (ESM) equipping the Orion capsules.
These modules, cylinders about 4 meters in diameter and height, made up of some 22,000 parts supplied by ten countries, are patiently assembled in “clean rooms”, clean rooms at the Airbus headquarters in Bremen, in the northern Germany. Once completed, the module is transferred to Kennedy Space Center, Florida.
Module 2 has already been delivered, the next three are being assembled.
“We are on track to meet NASA’s requirement to deliver one ESM per year,” says Mr. Steckling, one of the prime contractors for this project worth more than 2 billion euros.
A first Artemis mission, a flight around the Moon without an astronaut, was crowned with success at the end of 2022. The delicate return to the atmosphere at around 40,000 km/h went off without a hitch.
Make way for Artemis 2, which should send astronauts into orbit around the lunar star in 2024.
The Orion space capsule from the first Artemis mission recovered by NASA and the US Navy after returning to Earth, December 11, 2022 in the Pacific (POOL / CAROLINE BREHMAN)
Artemis 3 should take over the following year at the earliest and allow the landing of two astronauts, the first woman and the first man of color, succeeding the 12 men who have already set foot on the lunar ground.
The role of the European module, placed under the Orion capsule, will be crucial: it will supply electricity, using four solar panels, water, oxygen and the thermal control essential to the life of the astronauts.
The module will also perform orbital maneuvers and could even be used to transport freight to the future Gateway lunar orbital station.
– Chinese competition –
The long-term objective is to set up a lunar ecosystem intended to better understand and explore the Moon and, in the longer term, manned missions to Mars.
“There are plenty of good reasons to go to the moon”, even if the man has already walked on the only natural satellite of the Earth several decades ago, believes David Parker, director of exploration within ESA.
“The Moon is a history book from which we can learn, thanks in particular to the study of meteorites found on the spot, how the Earth was formed and what is its future”, explains to AFP the German astronaut Alexander Gerst , who has already made two stays aboard the International Space Station (ISS).
German astronaut Alexander Gerst poses in front of the European Service Module Orion 4 (ESM-4) at the Airbus Defense assembly site in Bremen on February 9, 2023 in Germany (AFP/FOCKE STRANGMANN)
“The Moon has been a repository of the history of the solar system since its creation, it has remained relatively untouched since there is no atmosphere, no erosion”, abounds Philippe Berthe, responsible for the coordination of the program at the within ESA.
The Moon would also conceal exploitable resources, in particular at its south pole likely to contain, according to Mr. Berthe, water ice usable on site to manufacture fuel.
Finally, while in the 1960s the space race raged between the United States and the USSR, today the big competitor is Beijing.
China thus plans to send humans to the Moon by 2030 and Americans and Europeans do not intend to leave it free.