Customize Consent Preferences

We use cookies to help you navigate efficiently and perform certain functions. You will find detailed information about all cookies under each consent category below.

The cookies that are categorized as "Necessary" are stored on your browser as they are essential for enabling the basic functionalities of the site. ... 

Always Active

Necessary cookies are required to enable the basic features of this site, such as providing secure log-in or adjusting your consent preferences. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable data.

No cookies to display.

Functional cookies help perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collecting feedback, and other third-party features.

No cookies to display.

Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics such as the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.

No cookies to display.

Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.

No cookies to display.

Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with customized advertisements based on the pages you visited previously and to analyze the effectiveness of the ad campaigns.

No cookies to display.

ESA title
Accessing the Moon - SciSpacE

Accessing the Moon

ESA access to the Moon for science within this decade will be achieved through partnership with other agencies and potentially through commercial deliveries.

Life SciencesMoon & MarsPhysical Sciences

ESA access to the Moon for science within this decade will be achieved through partnership with other agencies and potentially through the procurement of flights from commercial actors. ESA is already partnering in missions with NASA, the Chinese National Space Administration (CNSA), and the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA up to 2026. In the decade to follow, access to the Moon is envisaged through a combination of international partnerships and delivery in ESA’s Argonaut lander. For the first Argonaut missions ESA payloads are considered as secondary passengers, alongside primary payloads delivered as cargo for NASA led Artemis human missions.

The focus for new missions with ESA scientific content until the middle of the next decade will be:

  1. Contributions to and participation in Artemis crewed missions

  1. ESA-led payloads as secondary passengers on the early Argonaut logistic missions, potentially involving national or international partners in supply of individual payloads

  1. Providing small payload contributions to partner-led or commercial  missions where an assessment of benefits, costs and risks demonstrates that such opportunities deliver sufficient value to ESA

For more information on the Argonaut lander see here.

News related to Accessing the Moon

Events related to Accessing the Moon