About ESA
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.
Highlights
Latest
Space in Member States
Find out more about space activities in our 23 Member States, and understand how ESA works together with their national agencies, institutions and organisations.
Germany
Austria
Belgium
Denmark
Spain
Estonia
Finland
France
Greece
Hungary
Ireland
Italy
Luxembourg
Norway
The Netherlands
Poland
Portugal
Czechia
Romania
United Kingdom
Slovenia
Sweden
Switzerland
Science & Exploration
Exploring our Solar System and unlocking the secrets of the Universe
Go to topicAstronauts
Latest
Enabling & Support
Making space accessible and developing the technologies for the future
Go to topicLatest
European Service Module-2 for Artemis II
The European Service Module-2 and Orion crew module adapter for the Artemis II Orion spacecraft was moved into the Final Assembly and System Testing (FAST) cell inside NASA's Operations and Checkout Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA, on 22 May 2023. The spacecraft modules will be integrated with the crew module before being handed over to NASA's Exploration Ground Systems for fuelling. The European Service Module holds 8000 l of fuel in four tanks that is distributed to 33 engines.
The first European Service Module exceeded expectations on the Artemis I mission, powering the Orion spacecraft around the Moon and back on its test flight. It supplied temperature control, propulsion and electricity for the spacecraft. For the two-week Artemis II mission the European Service Module-2 will have even more critical tasks as it needs to supply drinking water and breathable air to the four astronauts in the Orion capsule: NASA’s Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch and Canadian Space Agency’s Jeremy Hansen.
In June ESA formally hands over the European Service Module-2 to NASA, ready for integration with the Orion crew capsule and then on the road to the launchpad, set for liftoff around the Moon in 2024.
Orion and European Service Module in Artemis rocket
Artemis rocket with Orion and European Service Module inside
Orion elements explained
Under European Service Module-2
