ESA announces a German astronaut will be the first European to orbit the Moon through NASA’s Artemis program.
German astronauts Matthias Maurer and Alexander Gerst are the hottest candidates for the first European.
Photo Credit: NASA/Frank Michaux
During a landmark moment, the European Space Agency (ESA) Director General, Josef Aschbacher, made known that a German astronaut would be the one to make the very first single of a European to orbit the Moon with NASA's Artemis program. He made this announcement at the ESA ministerial council in Bremen, where he also mentioned that Europe had locked in tickets to the next Artemis flights. They are exchanged for parts such as the Orion service module and Lunar Gateway components.
According to NASA, ESA provides Artemis missions with essential hardware. Airbus in Bremen is assembling the European Service Module (ESM) — the propulsion and life-support unit for NASA's Orion spacecraft — and Europe is also building elements for the planned Lunar Gateway space station. ESA was able to secure three astronaut seats on upcoming lunar missions in exchange for these contributions. German astronauts will take the first of these flights, followed by French and Italian astronauts, according to Director General Josef Aschbacher.
Aschbacher named experienced German astronauts Matthias Maurer and Alexander Gerst as candidates for this Moon trip, according to Space.com. Both have been on extensive missions to the International Space Station. NASA's Artemis 2 (2024) will have an all-North American crew, while Artemis 3 (2027–28) plans to land Americans on the Moon's surface.
The secured seats of ESA fall within Artemis 4 and 5, which are planned for around 2028 and 2030. If selected, the German astronaut would travel 360,000 km to reach lunar orbit and be the first European ever to travel that far.
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