The European Space Agency (ESA) has officially announced that astronauts from Europe will participate in
What is known
ESA donates service modules to NASA forspacecraft Orion and the future station Lunar Gateway, which in the coming years should be built in orbit of the moon. In return, NASA included European astronauts on the Artemis IV and Artemis V missions.
The Federal Space Agency agreedsend three astronauts from Europe to the moon. The Artemis IV and Artemis V missions are planned for 2028 and 2029. respectively. When the third astronaut will go to the moon is still unknown. And it is far from a fact that Artemis IV and Artemis V will take place on time.
Together with the United States, more will be engaged in the study of the moon26 countries. Ecuador and India were the latest to join the project, signing an agreement called Artemis Accords in early summer. China and Russia are not included in this list.
There is now a strong possibility that NASAwill be able to make only one landing on the moon by 2028. The agency is experiencing financial problems. In addition, SpaceX's Starship spacecraft is still not ready.
But if everything goes according to plan, then in 2024astronauts will fly around the moon on the Orion spacecraft. The crew included three Americans and one Canadian. The first landing is so far scheduled for 2025 as part of the Artemis III program.