Artemis II Crew Visits ESA Site After 10-Day Moon Flight, Honoring 13-Nation Service Module Team
Updated
Updated · European Space Agency · Jul 14
Artemis II Crew Visits ESA Site After 10-Day Moon Flight, Honoring 13-Nation Service Module Team
1 articles · Updated · European Space Agency · Jul 14
Summary
Four Artemis II astronauts visited ESA’s ESTEC center in the Netherlands on the first post-flight stop to thank the European Service Module team that powered Orion around the Moon and back.
The 10-day mission, launched on April 1, marked humanity’s first crewed lunar flyby since Apollo 17 in 1972, with the module supplying air, water, power, thermal control and propulsion over more than 1 million kilometers.
At ESTEC, the crew toured the Eagle mission control room and robotics labs, while NASA Orion Program Manager Howard Hu presented ESA with a program award and certificates recognizing Europe’s contribution.
The outreach continues later this week with visits to Airbus in Bremen and Thales Alenia Space in Turin, key industrial partners behind the module’s assembly and structure.
Europe’s role is extending into the next missions: the third service module reached Kennedy Space Center in 2024 for Artemis III, which is set to include ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano as the first European on Artemis.
How will Europe's role in the Artemis program evolve beyond providing hardware as NASA's lunar strategy shifts?
Can the Artemis alliance win the race to the Moon against China amid changing US space exploration priorities?
Artemis II’s 2026 Lunar Flyby: International Partnerships, Crew Diversity, and the Path to Mars
Overview
Artemis II marked a historic return of humans around the Moon, made possible by the flawless performance of the European Service Module (ESM). Built by European industry under ESA leadership and assembled by Airbus with expertise from 13 countries, the ESM was essential for sustaining the crew, providing air, water, power, and propulsion over a journey of more than one million kilometers. The mission’s success sparked ongoing international gratitude, especially toward Europe’s vital contributions, and set the stage for deeper global collaboration in future lunar and Mars exploration.