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\t\t\t\t\t\t31\/03\/2026<\/span> When the four astronauts of Artemis II\u00a0lift off to travel towards the Moon for the first\u00a0time\u00a0in over 50 years, Europe will be travelling with them \u2013 not only through the European Service Module that powers\u00a0their spacecraft, but also through teams of engineers and medical specialists monitoring every move from Earth.\u00a0<\/p>\n From ESA centres in the Netherlands and Germany to NASA’s Mission Control\u00a0Center\u00a0in Houston, European experts will follow the mission around the clock,\u00a0analysing\u00a0data,\u00a0anticipating\u00a0risks\u00a0and ensuring\u00a0that both the crew and their spacecraft remain safe throughout the journey.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Just next door to the historic Apollo\u00a0flight control room at NASA’s Johnson Space\u00a0Center\u00a0sits the Mission Evaluation Room (MER). Here, over 200 specialists from NASA, ESA, Airbus and Lockheed Martin\u00a0will\u00a0analyse Orion’s performance in detail and advise flight controllers in real time.\u00a0<\/p>\n European engineers\u00a0monitor\u00a0pressures, temperatures, voltages, fuel levels and more\u00a0from their module, particularly during dynamic phases of the mission such as engine burns.\u00a0While flight\u00a0controllers\u00a0operate\u00a0the spacecraft, the MER team\u00a0know the spacecraft inside-out and\u00a0provide deep subsystem knowledge\u00a0and long-term analysis.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cOur job in MER is not only to monitor but also to anticipate,\u201d says Luca Fossati, ESM\u00a0mission\u00a0and flight operations system engineer at ESA. \u201cIf we see something that\u00a0isn\u2019t\u00a0behaving exactly as it should \u2013 even if\u00a0it’s\u00a0not yet an anomaly \u2013 we try to prevent it. Our goal is to look ahead and avoid problems before they happen.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Also in Houston, representatives from ESA’s Space Medicine Team will\u00a0observe\u00a0mission operations alongside international partners from NASA, the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), and the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). From a dedicated observation room with access to real-time data and communications, they will follow medical activities, wearable systems such as\u00a0EveryWear, and decision-making processes, strengthening coordination with ESA’s European Astronaut Centre and advancing Europe’s deep-space medical operations\u00a0expertise.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n At ESA\u2019s ESTEC technical centre in the Netherlands, a room known as Eagle serves as Europe’s mission evaluation hub for the European Service Module. Engineers\u00a0monitor\u00a0the spacecraft around the clock, using dedicated consoles for spacecraft operations, propulsion, avionics, thermal control and life-support resources, mechanisms and power, and safety.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n The teams analyse a continuous stream of live telemetry from the spacecraft and stand ready to respond to any anomaly. Eagle is directly connected to the Mission Evaluation Room at NASA\u2019s Johnson Space\u00a0Center\u00a0in Houston,\u00a0together\u00a0forming a transatlantic network of experts who know Orion better than anyone else.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cBecause we built the spacecraft, we know every bit of it, down to the last sensor.\u00a0That’s\u00a0why, in case of anomalies, we can confidently evaluate whether the mission is safe to continue and how to make any necessary adjustments during flight,\u201d shares Michael Flach, orbital propulsion subsystem architect for the European Service Module at Airbus.\u00a0<\/p>\n Operating from Europe also keeps the team\u00a0closely linked\u00a0to the industrial partners in\u00a010 ESA Member States\u00a0who built the module. From Eagle, engineers can coordinate directly with supplier companies if needed, while continuing work on future European Service Modules and other exploration missions.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n At ESA’s European Astronaut Centre (EAC) near Cologne, Germany, another team prepares to support the mission: the engineers behind\u00a0EveryWear, a secure medical tracking application developed in Europe and used for\u00a0nearly a\u00a0decade on the International Space Station.\u00a0<\/p>\n Originally developed by MEDES for the French space agency CNES,\u00a0EveryWear\u00a0allows astronauts to log nutrition and medication intake, complete medical questionnaires and communicate privately and securely with flight surgeons. For Artemis II, the software has been adapted from the Station’s iOS-based tablets to Orion’s Windows-based systems.\u00a0<\/p>\n Security is at the heart of the system. All medical data are encrypted at the source and can only be accessed by the intended recipient using a private key. As there are no ESA astronauts on Artemis II, the EAC team will not have access to crew medical data. Instead, this European-developed software equips NASA and CSA flight surgeons with the secure tools they need to\u00a0monitor\u00a0their astronauts\u2019 health throughout the mission.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cOur four team members will be on console throughout the mission, ready to answer any questions from the crew or flight control team,\u201d\u00a0explains Salvi Verma,\u00a0EveryWear\u00a0operations team lead at ESA. \u201cThe ideal scenario is that the software performs perfectly and we are simply listening in \u2013 but we are prepared to resolve any issue quickly.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Together, the\u00a0Houston MER,\u00a0ESTEC Eagle Room\u00a0and EAC\u00a0EveryWear\u00a0teams form a network of European eyes on the\u00a0Artemis II\u00a0mission\u00a0that crosses continents and time zones, bringing\u00a0unique\u00a0expertise\u00a0from\u00a0spacecraft subsystems\u00a0to\u00a0astronaut health monitoring.\u00a0<\/p>\n Their coordinated work\u00a0highlights Europe’s heritage in human spaceflight\u00a0and\u00a0dedication to\u00a0ensuring\u00a0mission success.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t10<\/span> likes<\/small><\/span><\/p>\n<\/header>\nHouston \u2013 Mission Evaluation Room <\/h2>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nThe Netherlands \u2013 Eagle Room<\/h2>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nGermany \u2013 EveryWear <\/h2>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nEurope on console <\/h2>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n