The European Service Module (ESM) is the European supply unit for the crewed US Orion spacecraft
On 16 November 2022, the Orion spacecraft of NASA’s Artemis I mission was launched towards the Moon, returning safely to Earth after 25 days. This flight marked the beginning of a new chapter in the history of spaceflight. The centrepiece of the Orion spacecraft is its service and propulsion module ESM, which is being built by an industry consortium led by Airbus in Bremen. The new Orion crew spacecraft cannot fly without the ESM. It consists of over 20,000 parts and weighs around 15 tonnes at launch. The ESM includes the main engine, eight auxiliary engines and 24 smaller engines and supplies power via four solar arrays, each with a span of seven metres. It also regulates the temperature in the spacecraft and stores 8.6 tonnes of fuel, 90 kilograms of oxygen and 240 litres of water for the crew. At the end of its mission, the ESM is separated from the crew capsule and burns up in Earth’s atmosphere. For Artemis, NASA is relying on partners from other countries for a critical component of astronaut missions for the first time – an enormous vote of confidence in the capabilities of the European spacefaring nations.
Artemis I is the first in a series of missions under NASA’s Artemis programme for the permanent use and exploration of the Moon. It aims to land humans on Earth’s natural satellite again after more than 50 years, establish a permanent base there together with international partners, and build a space station in lunar orbit from which humans will embark on missions to more distant destinations, including Mars. Artemis I was the first step on this journey. With Artemis II, a crew will fly around the Moon with Orion in 2025 for the first time since 1972. In 2026, Artemis III will send the first humans back to the lunar surface in over 50 years. Germany is involved in the programme via the European Space Agency (ESA). The German Space Agency at DLR, based in Bonn, manages the German ESA contributions on behalf of the German Federal government.
Links:
Orion App-Download:
German Aerospace Center (DLR)
German Space Agency at DLR
E-Mail contact-dlr@DLR.de
