The European Space Agency (ESA) is charting an ambitious course for the future. It is aiming to solidify Europe's position in space exploration through the “Explore 2040” initiative.
Josef Aschbacher is the director-general of ESA. He emphasized the need for Europe to increase its space activities during an October 16th address to the International Astronautical Congress (IAC) 2024 in Milan, Italy. The agency is now developing a strategy to define its future. One key pillar of this strategy is exploration.
Daniel Neuenschwander is the director of human and robotic exploration at ESA. He said in Milan, “We have a process with our Member States called Explore 2040, which is a perspective at the horizon of 2040 and where Europe can go.”
Neuenschwander added that “What we want, above all, is to increase the pace and how we conduct programs.” That includes speeding up innovation and developing transportation and infrastructure for exploration. Neuenschwander also revealed plans for a presence in low Earth orbit (LEO), before heading to the moon and beyond. He continued, “We want to bring Europeans around the moon and on the surface of the moon… And then the horizon goal is, of course, to bring humans to Mars.”
An important milestone for “Explore 2040” is the upcoming 2025 Ministerial Council meeting. At this meeting member states will determine the future course for Europe in space. These important summit meetings take place every three years to decide the level of commitment of ESA's member states and which programs they will commit to. Their support is vital for Explore 2040.
The plan for LEO involves securing a post-International Space Station (ISS) pathway. This includes a LEO cargo program which, through developing return capabilities, can set the stage for full European human spaceflight capabilities.
Samantha Cristoforetti is an ESA astronaut. Speaking in Milan, she said that the ESA initial goals include demonstrating end-to-end cargo delivery and return services to the ISS.
With respect to the Moon, Europe is already providing the European Service Module as part of NASA's Orion spacecraft. This means that the ESA will already be flying to the moon in some form. The next stage is lunar landing capabilities. For this, ESA is developing Argonaut which is a class of landers for putting cargo on the moon. It is being designed in partnership with Airbus.
Alexander Gerst is an ESA astronaut. He said that the logistics lander will be critical to enabling international cooperation and sustainable lunar operations. Gerst continued, “Argonaut fills in the gap of how we approach landing on the moon and then being able to operate on the surface, thanks to the one point seven tons of cargo [it can carry].”
With respect to Mars, ESA plans to proceed with the LightShip program to establish a communication and navigation network around Mars. LightShip is an electric propulsive tug that will deliver one or more passenger spacecraft to Mars, provide communications and navigation services, and be able to carry a range of scientific payloads.
These ambitious goals indicate that ESA is positioning itself to make the agency instrumental to future space exploration.
In addition to these commitments, ESA is starting its Moonlight program to provide navigation and communications services around the moon. It will also be commissioning several small lunar missions, depending on the outcome of the 2025 ministerial summit. It is committed to launching the much-delayed Rosalind Franklin rover for a Mars mission and providing the Earth return orbiter for the Mars Sample Return mission with NASA.
For consideration in the following important Ministerial Council in 2028 will be lunar prospecting and sampling missions, possibly a lunar remote camp, and lunar Gateway cargo return, as well as the possible evolution of the Argonaut lander. A new phase of post-ISS infrastructure development will also be discussed at the Ministerial Council meeting.
ESA's plans for Explore 2040 have not been finalized. It is one issue of a broader ESA strategy under discussion.
Aschbacher told reporters during a press conference on October 24th, “We have discussed the ESA Strategy 2040, which is a document that is being prepared right now.” He continued, “So we have a draft of the document that was presented to the delegations. It was very highly appreciated. We are not yet at the final version. The final version is expected to be prepared for December."
ESA's vision for 2040 depends not only on innovative projects but on the solid support of its twenty-two member states to transform plans into reality.