The Orion spacecraft prepares to depart. Direction: Mars. A futuristic project, which marks a new milestone in man's space missions, created by NASA and the European Space Agency.
US scientists will have the task of building the module that will house the crew, while the Europeans will have to build the service module aimed at providing propulsion, power, thermal control and the key elements of the capsule's survival system.
On 19 May, the assembly phase began at the Airbus Defense & Space hub in Bremen. In this context, it is important to underline the important contribution of our country, made through Thales Alenia Space, which is responsible for 25% of the refueling module construction project.
The structure of the module, delivered last April, was built in the Turin plant thanks to a joint venture between Thales and Leonardo – Finmeccanica, while over the next few weeks the shield that will protect the spacecraft from micro meteorites, the thermal, stowage and distribution of water and gas. Mars has therefore also become a goal for Italy.
The contract with Airbus Defense and Space was signed in September 2015, for a total value of 90 million euros out of a total of 390 million relating to the entire European project. The first model will go on a mission in 2018, still unmanned. For astronauts on Mars we will have to wait until 2021.
