Artemis II: A historic lunar mission with Airbus

Artemis II built upon the success of the uncrewed Artemis I mission in 2022, successfully demonstrating the broad range of capabilities required for deep space missions.

While Artemis I provided invaluable data and insights, demonstrating the capabilities of the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and the Orion spacecraft, it also confirmed  the exceptional performance of the ESM in the harsh environment of deep space.

With Artemis II, those learnings were put into practice, rigorously testing the critical systems and procedures necessary to ensure the safety and health of the crew during their lunar journey.

As the first crewed mission to the Moon in over 50 years, Artemis II served as a crucial precursor to humanity's return to the lunar surface. Its success sets the stage for Artemis III, which will focus on docking and systems validation in Earth orbit. These milestones pave the way for Artemis IV in 2028—the mission slated to return astronauts to the lunar surface and establish a sustained human presence.

Artemis continues to demonstrate how collaboration between European partners and the USA advances technology for both space and Earth, benefiting all of humanity.

Orion infographic 16x9

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Within the Artemis programme, NASA will use a European system to power and supply a human spacecraft mission for the first time, planning to return to the Moon with a crewed landing by 2028.

NASA´s Artemis II crewed mission builds upon the success of the uncrewed Artemis I mission in 2022, and will demonstrate a broad range of capabilities needed on deep space missions. 

Under a European Space Agency (ESA) contract, Airbus is responsible for building the European Service Module (ESM), which both propels and manoeuvres the Orion spacecraft and provides the crew with air and water, as well as keeps the module at a comfortable temperature.