The Artemis I Moon mega rocket sits on the launch pad at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. This powerful Space Launch System (SLS) rocket is preparing to launch the Orion spacecraft and its European Service Module. The first opportunity to launch is on November 16 at 1:04 AM. EST/local time (07:04 CET, 06:04 GMT). Artemis I is the first mission in a major program to send astronauts around and to the Moon sustainably. This first uncrewed launch will see the Orion spacecraft travel to the Moon, enter an elongated orbit around our satellite, and then return to Earth. The Orion spacecraft is powered by the European unit which provides electricity, propulsion, fuel, water and air in addition to keeping the spacecraft operating at the right temperature. Artemis I Mission Overview Orion is NASA’s next spacecraft to send humans into space and is part of the Artemis program. It is designed to send astronauts farther into space than ever before, beyond the Moon and into the lunar portal. Credit: ESA–K. Oldenburg
Artemis on the Moon
The European service units are manufactured from components supplied by more than 20 companies in ten European Space Agency (ESA) member states and the United States. As the first European Service Module sits atop the SLS rocket at the launch site, the second is just 8 km (5 miles) away as it currently integrates with the Orion crew capsule for the first crewed mission – Artemis II. The third and fourth European service units – which will power astronauts on a lunar landing – are produced in Bremen, Germany. Contributions to Europe for the European Service Module powering the Artemis missions around the Moon. Credit: ESA–K. Oldenburg The Artemis program is an international effort to build a permanent outpost around and on the Moon. Modules for the Lunar Gateway are manufactured in the United States and Europe, with the first European module – International Habitat – being produced in Turin, Italy and launched on the fourth Artemis mission alongside the Orion spacecraft. Artemis’ first launch this week is unmanned, but three mannequins have been placed in the spacecraft’s seats to conduct scientific research. Equipped with more than 5,600 sensors, two mannequins will measure the amount of radiation astronauts could be exposed to on future missions with unprecedented precision. ESA is also including active radiation dosimeters on the Crew Module to get more data on how radiation levels change on a mission to the Moon – building on leadership developed over decades of radiation research on the International Space Station. Logo for the first European Service Module (ESM) that powers NASA’s Orion spacecraft to send humans to space and the Moon as part of the Artemis program. Credit: ESA
Dates
Launching on November 16, the three-week Artemis I mission would end on December 11 with a dive into the Pacific Ocean. The European Service Module detaches from the Orion Crew Module before launch and burns up harmlessly in the atmosphere, its work completed after it takes Orion to the Moon and returns safely. Backup Artemis I release dates include November 19th. Watch the launch live on ESA Web TV. The European Service Module Orion spacecraft will fly farther from Earth than any human-rated vehicle has ever flown. This video gives an overview of the first mission – without astronauts – for Artemis, focusing on ESA’s European Services Unit that powers the spacecraft. The spacecraft will fly by the Moon, using lunar gravity to gain speed and propel itself 70,000 km beyond the Moon, nearly half a million km from Earth – farther than any human has ever traveled. , where it will inject into a distant retrograde Orbit around the Moon. On its return trip, Orion will make another flyby of the Moon before returning to Earth. The total trip will take about 20 days, ending with a dive into the Pacific Ocean without the European Service Unit – it separates and burns up harmlessly in the atmosphere. Credit: ESA – European Space Agency
