The European Space Agency (ESA) is Europe’s gateway to space. Its mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world.
Find out more about space activities in our 23 Member States, and understand how ESA works together with their national agencies, institutions and organisations.
Exploring our Solar System and unlocking the secrets of the Universe
Go to topicProtecting life and infrastructure on Earth and in orbit
Go to topicUsing space to benefit citizens and meet future challenges on Earth
Go to topicMaking space accessible and developing the technologies for the future
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At ESA’s technical heart in Noordwijk, The Netherlands (ESTEC), engineers monitor the European Service Module for the Artemis missions to the Moon. Experts from ESA, Airbus and Thales Alenia Space constantly watch the European Service Module’s systems from countdown to launch and during flight. The operational team is located in the Erasmus Support Facility (ESF), a multi-purpose control centre which supports users from the International Space Station European Robotic Arm, ESA’s Columbus Space Station module and public relations teams.
The European Service Module engineers have their own console and computer with multiple screens to display the various engineering data received from the Orion spacecraft. The personnel on duty are “on console”. The teams talk to each other over voice-loops which are connected to the Johnson Space Center and are grouped by private circuits called “loops” and can select who to talk with using a dedicated touchscreen. The system is also used for International Space Station operations. The European Service Module call sign is “Eagle” followed by the system they are monitoring, so a conversation will start with “Orion MER, Eagle Propulsion on MER coordination loop 1” for example.