The European Space Agency is developing a vehicle capable of landing on the moon with high precision in order to deliver experiments and equipment to the lunar surface. A complex logistics project, but which will bring new unique skills, while many space powers are turned towards the Moon!
Like the others, Argonaut will have to prove itself!
Apollo, Artemis… Greek mythology continues to inspire agencies developing lunar missions. It is now the Argonauts, this crew of Heroes who accompanied Jason on their ship, the Argo, to go in search of the Golden Fleece, who seduced the European Space Agency. Argonaut is a project under development to lead to a European lunar lander. The concept itself took a while to leave the drawing board, having been around since 2020, but its elements are becoming clearer.
Argonaut will therefore be a large platform dedicated to carrying large payloads on the Moon. With 4.5 meters in diameter, up to 6 meters high and 10 tonnes at take-off, it will be an impressive vehicle! It will be divided into three parts, the LDE (Lunar Descent Element) which will be used to land and will be common to all missions, the CPE (Cargo Platform Element) which serves as an adapter and the payloads, whose mass can reach up to 2.1 tons!
But where is Jason?
ESA is not developing Argonaut with a single landing in mind, but within the framework of a real mission architecture and in a long-term project. For example, Argonaut will work with ESA’s small constellation Moonlight around the Moon, which will provide its communications relay, positioning and timing capabilities. As a result, the European agency is considering very precise moon landings, less than 100 meters from predefined positions.
Then, the Argonaut missions could be fully robotized with the removal of large rovers, for example, but the ESA is considering them more for the establishment of bases and elements intended for astronauts on the surface. Delivery of habitats, batteries, elements that will allow them to spend more than two weeks (and therefore to resist the lunar night) on site…
Landing to form a real lunar base will give even more substance to a project like that of the Americans, Artemis. The latter is rather focused today on the establishment of the elements to reach the lunar ground. ESA could therefore continue to provide key elements as it already does with the Orion capsule service module or modules for the future Gateway orbital station.
He will drop heavy
It should however be noted that Argonaut is a project entirely piloted by the ESA (just like Moonlight). It will therefore progress independently of the results of the other agencies. The platform is designed to take off with Ariane 6, and will also allow European companies to prepare a large lander on the lunar environment.
A subject that takes time and for which Europe (which has to deal with limited budgets) is a little behind other agencies. China, India, the United States, Japan, Russia all have plans for robotic lunar landers now or in the coming years. However, Argonaut has solid arguments with its positioning “in support” and its great capabilities… even if there is no date yet for the first mission of this new mythological project.
Source : Isa
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