Timelapse video of the third European Service Module (ESM-3) as it left the assembly halls of Airbus Space in Bremen, Germany, in a custom-built container on 16 August 2024.  

Built in Italy, assembled in Germany, and with contributions from all over Europe, ESA is delivering this service module to NASA as part of the Artemis III mission to the Moon.

The third European Service Module began its journey in the manufacturing halls of Thales Alenia Space in Turin, Italy, where engineers built its chassis-like structure. This backbone supports all components of the module including: 11 km of wiring, 33 engines, four tanks with 2000 litres of propellant each, tanks with enough water and air for the crew during their mission and four seven-metre solar arrays providing enough electricity for two households.

From October 2020, the module and its components arrived to Germany for assembly. The parts came from over 20 companies across more than 10 European countries, a testament to the cooperative effort behind this project.

The next step will be for ESM-3 to sail to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in the United States. The module’s journey across the Atlantic Ocean will take 12 days on board the Canopée, the same transport ship that transported Ariane 6 to Europe’s spaceport in French Guiana ahead of its inaugural flight.