European Service Module Handover for NASA Artemis III Moon Landing Mission

European Service Module Handover for NASA Artemis III Moon Landing Mission

On September 10, 2025, the European Space Agency officially handed over its third European Service Module (ESM) to NASA. The module will power the Orion spacecraft on Artemis III—the mission set to return NASA astronauts to the lunar surface for the first time in over 50 years. This event marks a significant milestone, underlining the acceptance of the module by NASA as well as highlighting the dedication of the many teams across Europe and the United States that are bringing the spacecraft to life.

The third European Service Module was integrated by Airbus in Bremen, Germany, with contributions from industry all over Europe. Sailing across the Atlantic, the module arrived at NASA's Kennedy Space Center last summer, where it was joined with Orion's crew module adapter to form the complete service module. Dr. Jan-Hendrik Meiss from Airbus explains the module's progress so far at Kennedy Space Center.

Over the course of about 30 days, the Artemis III astronauts will travel to lunar orbit, where two crew members will descend to the surface and spend approximately a week near the South Pole of the Moon conducting new science before returning to lunar orbit to join their crew for the journey back to Earth. Launch is currently scheduled for mid-2027.

Follow updates on the Artemis blog: 
https://blogs.nasa.gov/artemis/

NASA's Artemis III Mission:
https://www.nasa.gov/mission/artemis-iii/

Credit: European Space Agency (ESA)
Duration: 1 minute
Release Date: Sept. 23, 2025

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