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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NASA’s uncrewed Artemis I test flight saw Orion travel around the Moon and farther than any spacecraft designed to carry humans and return them to Earth. The landing for the Artemis I mission starts with a collision course with Earth to test the reentry, hitting our atmosphere at speeds of 40 times the speed of sound.
Just 40 minutes before splashdown, having delivered Orion safely back to Earth, ESA’s European Service Module (ESM) with its Crew Module Adapter will detach from the crew capsule. As planned, the ESM will up harmlessly in the atmosphere as the Orion Crew Module guides itself through reentry, orienting the capsule with its own thrusters, releasing its parachutes and gracefully splashing down. Recovery teams will collect the capsule.
Artemis is the international lunar exploration programme that is taking humankind to the Moon. This first mission provided a first test of both NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) and the Orion moonship that was propelled by the ESM’s 33 engines beyond the Moon and into deep space. Future European Service Modules will provide electricity, propulsion and cabin thermal control for astronauts on lunar missions as well as breathable atmosphere and drinking water.