Going back to the Moon couldn’t happen without us
50 years after their last visit, humans will soon land on the Moon again. Why the historic mission would not be possible without Airbus - hand in hand with the European Space Agency - and how it could enrich our lives on Earth - Guillaume Faury, Mike Schoellhorn and Jean-Marc Nasr exclusively provide all the details.
50 years after their last visit, humans will soon land on the Moon again. Why the historic mission would not be possible without Airbus - hand in hand with the European Space Agency - and how it could enrich our lives on Earth - Guillaume Faury, Mike Schoellhorn and Jean-Marc Nasr exclusively provide all the details.
“NASA is going back to the Moon, and (...) it couldn’t happen without us (...). We are in charge of creating the powerhouse of the Orion spacecraft, called the European Service Module, ESM in short. This ESM will provide all the critical functions for the spacecraft including the propulsion and everything the astronauts will need to survive.”
Mike Schoellhorn, CEO Airbus Defence and Space
“It is truly inspiring that this marks the first time that NASA has chosen Airbus, a
company mainly based outside the US, to deliver critical functions for a spacecraft that
will carry humans into space.”
Guillaume Faury, CEO Airbus
“Just as we do not want to do to space what we have done to our oceans, we have a real responsibility in this new lunar epic. As a responsible company, we will continue to develop solutions to make this world safer, fairer and a better place to live.”
Jean-Marc Nasr, Head of Space Systems at Airbus
Inspiring new lunar epic
Gene Cernan was the last man on the Moon in 1972. The first woman will finally land there in 2025 - more than 50 years later. The historic mission begins this year: on 29th August 2022, the first uncrewed test flight, Artemis I, will lift off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA's giant SLS rocket (Space Launch System) will then blast an uncrewed Orion capsule into space. There, the European Service Module (ESM-1) built by Airbus for the European Space Agency will take over: It will propel Orion 70,000 kilometres around the Moon and return it safely to Earth. Airbus ESMs will also power the following Artemis missions that will ultimately bring humans back to the Moon - and ensure that the astronauts will have enough water and air to breathe on their way to our Earth’s satellite and back.
More information here: https://www.airbus.com/en/OrionESM