Europe-based global major aerospace group Airbus has been awarded a repeat order by the European Space Agency (ESA) for three service modules for use in the US National Aeronautics and Space Agency’s (Nasa’s) Artemis programme. (ESA is not an agency of the European Union.) This takes Airbus’ order book for the modules, designated the European Service Module (ESM), to six. Artemis is the programme that will take the next man and the first woman to the Moon by 2024.

Each ESM will be attached to a Nasa Orion crewed spacecraft to permit the execution of the Artemis missions. The ESM will provide the Orion with essential services, including propulsion, manoeuvring, power, oxygen, water and thermal control. An ESM is a cylinder which is about 4 m tall and also 4 m in diameter. It has a mass of a little more than 13 t, of which 8.6 t is fuel, which powers one main engine and 32 thrusters. Each ESM has four solar arrays, which extend for 19 m when unfolded.

“Europe has entered a new decade of exploration,” highlighted Airbus Space Exploration head Andreas Hammer. “Building six Orion [ESMs] is a venture like no other. Airbus has some of the world’s best minds in space exploration working on this phenomenal vehicle and this new agreement will facilitate many future Moon missions through international partnerships. Europe is a strong and reliable partner in Nasa’s Artemis missions and the Orion [ESM] represents a crucial contribution to this.”

“This contract doubles Europe’s commitment to delivering the vital hardware to send humankind to the Moon on Orion,” affirmed ESA Human and Robotic Exploration director David Parker. “Together with the elements we are building for the Lunar Gateway [space station] we are guaranteeing seats for ESA astronauts to explore our Solar System as well as securing employment and technological know-how for Europe.” 

The first of the ESMs will fly with its associated Orion on the uncrewed Artemis I test flight, later this year. The second ESM will form part of the Artemis II mission, which will be crewed and fly to and around the Moon and back, but not land on the lunar surface. The third ESM will be part of the crewed Artemis III mission, which will land on the Moon in 2024. The second batch of ESMs will be used in the Artemis IV, Artemis V and Artemis VI missions. Artemis IV and Artemis V will be part of ESA’s contribution to the construction of the Lunar Gateway, assembly of which is expected to start also in 2024. 

Prior to the ESM programme, Airbus had been the prime contractor for ESA’s Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV), a robot space freighter that carried supplies to the International Space Station. The company used its experience with the ATV to help develop the ESM.