Our fourth European Service Module arrived at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, United States, last December. This powerhouse will propel Orion and its crew safely towards the Moon and back during the Artemis IV mission, and provide them with breathable air, drinkable water, and a comfortable temperature throughout their lunar journey.

The backbone of the module began its journey in the cleanrooms of Thales Alenia Space in Turin, Italy. The assembly took place at Airbus in Bremen, Germany, with contributions from over 20 companies across 10 European countries. Engineers installed and connected the module's 11 km of wiring, 33 engines, and several tanks holding over 8000 litres of fuel as well as water and air for the astronauts.

In November last year, the module said goodbye to Europe forever, setting sail on the BBC Livorno across the Atlantic Ocean to Port Canaveral, next to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.

The module is currently in the Industrial Operations Zone, or IOZ, within the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building. Here, engineers will soon attach the module to the Crew Module Adapter, which acts as the bridge between the crew and service module. Teams will connect the crew module, and then the distinctive European-built “X-wing” solar arrays to form the complete Orion spacecraft for the Artemis IV mission.

Artemis IV will also bring ESA’s Lunar I-Hab habitation module to lunar orbit, where it will join NASA’s habitation and propulsion modules to form the international Gateway station, humankind’s next outpost around the Moon.