Moon surface scenario

Artist's impression of a Moon exploration scenario.

The Terrae Novae 2030+ strategy roadmap has ambitious goals for each of the three exploration destinations low Earth orbit, Moon and Mars.

The high-level ambitious goal for the Moon is to see the first European astronaut land on the Moon before 2030 by providing autonomous Moon landing capabilities for European-led missions including in an international cooperation context, developing scientific and infrastructure assets, and preparing in turn for sustained lunar exploration in the 2030s, possibly also seizing new cooperation opportunities in human landing and surface mobility capabilities.

Terrae Novae 2030+ plans initial European capabilities and contributions for Moon exploration. The EL3 lander in the left has delivered a combination of cargo items, scientific payloads, and small robotic rovers. An Artemis crew including a European astronaut are unloading the lander assisted by a robotic arm and preparing lunar surface exploration activities. An earlier EL3 lander mission can be seen in the background, supporting several payloads and instruments. In orbit is the lunar Gateway including European elements that provides a staging post to the lunar surface, as well as other deep space destinations.            

For more on ESA’s human and robotic exploration strategy see: https://www.esa.int/terraenovae