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.
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Exploring our Solar System and unlocking the secrets of the Universe
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Today marks one year since the start of the Artemis I mission. On this day last year, NASA’s mega Moon rocket SLS launched the Orion vehicle into space, where it was propelled to the Moon and back, over 2.25 million km, by ESA’s European Service Module. The Artemis I mission did everything it was supposed to and more: testing every detail of the mission scenario and Orion spacecraft before future crewed Artemis missions. The European Service Module in particular went above and beyond: executing its challenging manoeuvres to a tee and generating so much extra power with its solar wings that they were used as “selfie-sticks” to take all the great mission pictures we’ve seen.
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This is a view of the European Service Module pointing at our planet and the Moon, taken on the 13th day of flight for the Artemis I mission at 22:06 CET (21:06 GMT), 28 November 2022. It shows Orion and the European Service Module halfway through the Artemis I mission near its maximum distance from Earth, at 432 210 km from our home planet and over 64 000 km from the Moon. Seen from the spacecraft, our planet had just passed behind the Moon when this photo was taken, as Orion was in lunar orbit.