Astronaut Gerst: Artemis II marks new era in moon research
The German astronaut contextualises the moon mission - and hopes to have the chance to join the next flight himself.
Cologne (dpa, d.de) - German astronaut Alexander Gerst sees the Artemis II mission as the start of a new era. “It’s no longer about planting flags, as it was in the first wave.” He said the goal now was to establish a permanent presence on the moon - as researchers. “The most important result here is that the spacecraft works.”
Gerst hopes that he will get the chance to fly to the moon himself on one of the next Artemis missions. He said that it would be decided in the coming months when the next European astronaut would be allowed to join a mission.
One thing is clear as far as subsequent flights are concerned: technology from Germany will be on board again. The service modules for Artemis III and IV have already been supplied by the European Space Agency (ESA), confirmed ESA Director Daniel Neuenschwander. The modules are produced mainly by Airbus in Bremen. 13 European countries are involved in production.
Federal Research Minister Dorothee Bär called the mission a great success. “After more than 50 years, we are now an important step closer to putting humans back on the surface on the moon.”
NASA’s plan is for Artemis IV in 2028 to mark the first moon landing since the Apollo 17 mission in 1972. Artemis III is scheduled to launch in 2027 but not to land on the moon.
