From Munich to the Moon

Today marks a significant step forward as a letter of intent was signed between ESA, the German space agency DLR and the Free State of Bavaria to collaborate on the development of lunar mission control capabilities at ESA’s Columbus Control Centre (Col-CC) in Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany.

Col-CC’s primary responsibility currently lies in managing operations for Columbus, the European laboratory aboard the International Space Station. The evolution of the control centre will enable operational support for the key European contributions to the lunar Gateway space station, paving the way for developing operational concepts for infrastructure and human missions to the Moon and Mars.

Known by the call sign “Munich” due to its proximity to the city in the heart of Bavaria, Col-CC stands among the five control centres worldwide responsible for overseeing all activities on the International Space Station. Over the past two decades, Col-CC has played a pivotal role in European activities on the Station, supporting ESA’s astronauts and scientific research within the Columbus module.

All data from the Columbus laboratory is routed through Col-CC before being distributed to other centres for processing and archiving. However, Col-CC’s role has extended beyond this. During the Artemis I mission, flight data from the European Service Module (ESM) of the Orion crew vehicle was relayed via Col-CC to the ESA ESM operations team at ESTEC, ESA’s technical heart in the Netherlands.

As Europe ventures further into space, the expertise cultivated at the Columbus Control Centre will be vital for extending mission operations from low Earth orbit towards the Moon and beyond.

To learn more about the Columbus Control Centre, see here.