From left: the Artemis II astronauts, Christina Koch, Jeremy Hansen, Victor Glover, and Reid Wiseman, visited the European Service Module (ESM) assembly hall at Airbus in Bremen, Germany, last week.

Exciting developments are taking place in preparation for NASA's Orion spacecraft's next journey to the Moon. The four astronauts will be part of this second mission – a two-week show of the functionality of the Orion spacecraft and its European Service Module. ESA is overseeing the development of Orion’s service module, the part of the spacecraft that supplies air, water, electricity, and propulsion, as well as regulating the temperature.

The Artemis II crew had the privilege of seeing the only lunar human spaceflight vehicle in production first-hand during their visit to the clean rooms in Bremen, where Airbus plays a pivotal role in the European Service Module assembly process.

There are currently four modules in production in the assembly hall: ESM-3, ESM-4, ESM-5, and ESM-6. The third European Service Module completed tank integration this summer and is now being prepared for its departure to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA, by the end of the year.

Meanwhile, integration work is in full swing for the fourth European Service Module with harness, tubing, cabling, and bracket installation underway. ESM-4 is set to power the first European astronaut and Gateway module, I-Hab around the Moon.

The integration phase for ESM-5 has also commenced, marking progress in the assembly of these essential components. The latest addition to this impressive line-up of modules, the ESM-6, has just arrived in Bremen and was unpacked this week.

These developments bring the Artemis programme one step closer to returning humans to the Moon. As these ESMs take shape in Bremen, the excitement continues to build for the upcoming Artemis II mission.

“If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together,” said Marc Steckling, Head of Space Exploration at Airbus during a press event on Friday, 15 September.

The Artemis programme, led by NASA, aims to return humans to the Moon and establish a sustainable presence there. Recently, Germany has joined other European countries in this lunar endeavour by signing the Artemis Accords, demonstrating the commitment to peaceful and cooperative space exploration.