There is also a lot of Italy on board Artemis II, NASA’s mission with four astronauts on board that marks humanity’s return around the Moon for the first time in over half a century.
The first human mission beyond Earth’s orbit in over 50 years is underway with the successful launch from Cape Canaveral at 00:35 Italian time on April 2.
One of the essential components of the Orion spacecraft, built by Lockheed Martin and positioned atop Boeing’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, is the European Service Module (ESM), which provides astronauts with vital systems. It represents Europe’s main contribution to the Artemis II mission, made by the European Space Agency (ESA) and European industries.
Our country, through the Italian Space Agency (Asi) and a highly specialized industrial supply chain, plays a leading role in the Artemis program.
All the details.
THE ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN SERVICE MODULE
The European Service Module (ESM) is an essential element of the mission, responsible for the overall operation of the capsule during the journey to the Moon and the return to Earth.
“We are on the threshold of a historic return: humanity is heading back to the Moon, more than half a century after Apollo 17. NASA will make history again, but this time the Artemis mission is a truly international endeavor and Europe has a central role,” said the Director General of the European Space Agency (ESA) Josef Aschbacher just hours before the launch, referring to the module. “ESA,” Aschbacher continued, “is proud to be a key partner of NASA and, by providing the European Service Module (ESM), it not only makes this mission possible but powers it.”
The Orion Service Module – which, as mentioned, provides propulsion, power, and life support functions for the capsule – also incorporates components made in Italy.
TECHNOLOGIES DEVELOPED BY LEONARDO
Leonardo, at the Nerviano (Milan) plant, manufactures the photovoltaic panels (PVA) that make up the four “wings” of the service module: each measuring seven meters and capable of delivering about 11kW total to power the onboard electronics. Also in Lombardy, the electronic units (PCDU) used for power control and distribution to the spacecraft are produced.
THE CONTRIBUTION OF THALES ALENIA SPACE
Thales Alenia Space, a joint venture between Thales (67%) and Leonardo (33%), handled the construction of the ESM module structure and critical subsystems – including the micrometeoroid protection system and thermal control.
TELESPAZIO WORKING ON RADIO TRACKING FOR THE ARTEMIS II MISSION…
Then there is Telespazio, a joint venture between Leonardo (67%) and Thales Alenia Space (33%), among the participants selected by NASA to take part in the radio tracking activities of the Artemis II mission, which will be carried out through the infrastructures and expertise of the Fucino Space Center, one of the world’s main hubs for civil satellite communications.
… AND ON MOONLIGHT
To create the Lunar economy, it will also be essential to establish a network of communication and navigation services, like Galileo or GPS on Earth, that ensures constant contact between astronauts and robotic systems or with control centers, as well as providing precise positioning on the lunar surface. In this context, Telespazio, leading an international consortium, has been selected by ESA to study an infrastructure for lunar communications and navigation. The project is part of the Lunar Communications and Navigation Services (LCNS) initiative of the Moonlight program and, among its requirements, will analyze the possibility of making the system interoperable with Lunanet, the infrastructure NASA is developing to support the Artemis program.
THE ITALY-NASA AGREEMENT FOR THE MOON
Thus Leonardo and the Italian space industry play an “important role” and “I think this has been widely recognized over the years, including in the latest mission,” observed Massimo Claudio Comparini, Managing Director of Leonardo’s Space Division, during the event organized by the Agency for the retransmission of the Artemis II mission launch. The reference is to the recent agreement signed in Washington by the Minister of Enterprises and Made in Italy Adolfo Urso, with responsibility for space policies, and NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman regarding future lunar settlements built in Italy and the participation of an Italian astronaut in one of the upcoming Artemis missions. Four years after the bilateral Asi-NASA agreement on lunar surface habitation modules, with this latest agreement, Italian technology for future bases on the Moon becomes part of the Artemis program.
“We Italians will also be ready to go to the Moon; today we go there with technology and developments we have designed and conceived, and tomorrow we will go with astronauts,” said Mario Cosmo, Director of Science and Innovation at Asi.
THE COMMENT FROM THE ASI PRESIDENT
“For Italy, and for the Italian Space Agency, this milestone has a special meaning,” commented Asi President Teodoro Valente, recalling that “Our country was among the first signatories of the Artemis Accords with NASA, contributing from the start to promoting international cooperation based on transparency, sustainability, and the peaceful use of space. Within this large global program, Italy has a prominent role: we contribute to the development of key infrastructures for the Artemis missions, from habitation modules to service modules, to Earth/Moon communications, up to the MPH Multi-Purpose Habitat project, Asi’s future home that will host astronauts on our natural satellite.”
Therefore, “Artemis II is not just a test mission,” concluded the president of the Italian Space Agency, “but the first concrete step of a program aimed at building a stable human presence also on the lunar surface, while simultaneously preparing the necessary technologies for future missions to Mars. The success of this launch once again demonstrates how fundamental international cooperation is to face the great challenges of space exploration. Italy, through Asi and its scientific and industrial supply chain, will continue to contribute with expertise and innovation to this new era of human space exploration.”
