The Artemis II mission ended on 10 April with the Orion capsule splashing down off the coast of San Diego, California. The ten-day journey, which launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on 1 April, carried four astronauts—Victor Glover, Christina Koch, Jeremy Hansen, and Reid Wiseman—farther from Earth than any crewed mission before. While no lunar landing took place, the flight marked a critical test of systems needed for humanity's return to the Moon.
For Europe, the mission underscored a quiet but essential contribution. The European Space Agency (ESA) built the European Service Module, the cylindrical section that provided electricity, propulsion, thermal control, air, and water to the Orion spacecraft. Without this module, the crew would not have survived the journey. Yet the future of Europe's involvement in the broader Artemis programme is now uncertain.
A Step Toward the Moon, Not a Landing
Artemis II was deliberately modelled on Apollo 8, the 1968 mission that first took humans around the Moon without landing. "It's comparable to Apollo 8 in the 60s, which was the first manned mission to the Moon. They did not land either, but that was a step for the famous Apollo 11," explained Senne Starckx, a science journalist based in Belgium, in an interview with Euronews Tech Talks. The primary goal was to test life-support systems, navigation, and the Orion capsule's performance with a crew on board.
The mission also generated public excitement, from the powerful launch of NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket to images of the Moon's far side. The crew even named a crater after Carroll Taylor Wiseman, the late wife of commander Reid Wiseman.
What Comes Next: Artemis III and IV
Artemis III, originally scheduled for 2026, was meant to land astronauts on the lunar surface. But NASA has revised the plan. "Artemis III was due to be the human landing on the Moon, but that has now been updated," said Kate Arkless Gray, a UK-based space journalist. Under the new timeline, Artemis III will remain in low-Earth orbit to test the Orion capsule's ability to dock with human landing systems. If that succeeds, Artemis IV—expected around 2028—would finally attempt the Moon landing.
These delays reflect broader challenges. NASA faces significant budgetary pressures, and the agency paused development of the Lunar Gateway, a Moon-orbiting station that ESA was supposed to build for Artemis III. "Everything is kind of in limbo at the moment," Arkless Gray told Euronews Next. "Their new plans are quite ambitious. It will be interesting to see how they manage to build this, especially when NASA itself is facing some rather big budgetary cuts."
Why Return to the Moon?
The Moon is not just a scientific destination. The United States, China, Russia, and India are all pursuing lunar missions, creating a competitive environment that mirrors Cold War-era space rivalry. "Space exploration isn't all just about human curiosity," Arkless Gray noted. Beyond prestige, the Moon offers resources—water ice that could be harvested for fuel and life support—and a proving ground for technologies needed for deeper space exploration.
"I think we already know a lot about the Moon. Now it's more about how we can build a permanent presence there? How can we build a moon base? How can we harvest water there?" Starckx added.
Is Space a Priority When Earth Has Problems?
Some critics argue that billions spent on space exploration could be better used addressing climate change, poverty, or pandemics. In interviews on the streets of Brussels, several people told Euronews Next that Artemis should not be a priority. Arkless Gray disagrees. "There's nothing stopping us from doing both. We really could do both if we wanted to," she said. "All money spent on space is spent here on Earth, so it's creating jobs and a whole industry helping the economy."
For Europe, the question is whether to continue investing in a programme whose direction is increasingly shaped by US budget constraints. The continent's space industry, centred in cities like Toulouse, Bremen, and Turin, has built a reputation for reliable engineering. But without a clear commitment from NASA, ESA's role in the next phase of lunar exploration remains uncertain.
As the Artemis programme evolves, European policymakers and taxpayers will need to decide how much they want to bet on a Moon that may still be years away.
