ESA Plans Manned Lunar Mission By 2020 | Aero-News Network
Aero-News Network
RSS icon RSS feed
podcast icon MP3 podcast
Subscribe Aero-News e-mail Newsletter Subscribe

Airborne Unlimited -- Most Recent Daily Episodes

Episode Date

Airborne-Monday

Airborne-Tuesday

Airborne-Wednesday Airborne-Thursday

Airborne-Friday

Airborne On YouTube

Airborne-Unlimited-06.23.25

Airborne-NextGen-06.24.25

AirborneUnlimited-06.25.25

Airborne-AffordableFlyers-06.26.25

AirborneUnlimited-06.27.25

Tue, Jan 12, 2016

ESA Plans Manned Lunar Mission By 2020

Robots Would Arrive First, Paving The Way For Multiple Human Landings

ESA has plans to send people back to the moon by the end of the decade.

In announcing its plans on its blog, the European Space Agency said the return to the Moon envisions a series of human missions starting in the early 2020s that would see astronauts interact with robots on the lunar surface from orbit. Robots will land first, paving the way for human explorers.

Lunar rovers, telerobotics and hybrid surface power are some of the innovative approaches that are being developed to support these early missions.

The vision is truly international. Space agencies, the private sector and industry are working towards a common goal of open lunar exploration.

Europe gets its first access to the lunar surface in 2020, supplying a precision-landing and hazard-avoidance system called PILOT to land the Russian Luna 27 safely near the Moon’s south pole. A drill to retrieve samples and a communication system are also in the making.

Relying on the success of the International Space Station partnership, the space community sees the Moon as a springboard to continue human exploration of the Solar System, with Mars as the next goal.

One driver of this renewed interest in the Moon is the hunt for lunar resources. Scientists and engineers are looking in particular for frozen volatiles – including water ice – known to be concealed within permanent shadows at the lunar poles.

Their distribution in different regions is not yet clear. Understanding where they are are important for a sustainable long-term strategy.

Over 200 scientists, engineers, astronauts, and space leaders from all over the world gathered to discuss the future of lunar exploration. They shared plans and promising ideas at ESTEC, ESA’s space technology center in the Netherlands, as part of the symposium ‘Moon 2020-2030: A new Era of Human and Robotic Exploration’.

The major international meeting ended with the announcement of the winners of the ESA Moon Challenge, the HECATE team. Engaging more than 200 students from over 100 universities, intercontinental teams joined efforts to design plans for a lunar a space habitat and a combination of robotic and human landings.

(Source: ESA blog. Images from ESA YouTube video)

FMI: www.esa.int

Advertisement

More News

Airborne 06.30.25: US v ADS-B Misuse, Nat’l STOL Fire, Volocopter Resumes

Also: Netherlands Donates 18 F16s, 2 737s Collide On Ramp, E-7 Wedgetail Cut, AgEagle's 100th In S Korea The Pilot and Aircraft Privacy Act was introduced in the House by Represent>[...]

NTSB Prelim: Piper PA-23

Pilot Also Reported That Due To A Fuel Leak, The Auxiliary Fuel Tanks Were Not Used On June 4, 2025, at 13:41 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA-23, N2109P, was substantially damage>[...]

ANN FAQ: Submit a News Story!

Have A Story That NEEDS To Be Featured On Aero-News? Here’s How To Submit A Story To Our Team Some of the greatest new stories ANN has ever covered have been submitted by our>[...]

Classic Aero-TV: One Man’s Vietnam

From 2023 (YouTube Edition): Reflections on War’s Collective Lessons and Cyclical Nature The exigencies of war ought be colorblind. Inane social-constructs the likes of racis>[...]

Klyde Morris (06.30.25)

What Goes Around, May Yet Come Back Around, Klyde FMI: www.klydemorris.com>[...]

blog comments powered by Disqus



Advertisement

Advertisement

Podcasts

Advertisement

© 2007 - 2025 Web Development & Design by Pauli Systems, LC