After some delays and problems, the Artemis II mission will take off next April 1, 2026 towards the Moon after half a century without humanity setting foot on the Earth’s satellite. And well, the reality is that the four people who will travel will not touch the Moon: they will simply circle it in a 10-day mission that will put humanity one step further: they will be the human beings who have been the furthest from Earth. And in that ship there will be critical technology made in Spain.
Because the Orion ship consists of two modules: a crew capsule manufactured by Lockheed Martin for NASA and the European Service Module, provided by the European Space Agency, with the German Airbus Defense and Space as main contractor. That’s where the Madrid piece is: the thermal control unit, which is carried out by Airbus Crisa.
TCU arrives from Tres Cantos. The Airbus Crisa plant in Tres Cantos (Madrid) has designed, manufactured and validated the Thermal Control Unit (TCU) of the European Service Module. As explains the Madrid company on its website, this piece will allow the supply of air and water to the astronauts, while ensuring that the temperature on board remains within comfortable levels for astronauts and equipment.
As account for El Mundo Fernando Gómez-Carpintero, general director of Airbus Crisa, Orion does not carry one TCU but two. “Both are identical and redundant, that is, the ship carries two units because all the systems are duplicated in case one fails.” After all, it is the life support of the crew capsule: it monitors and regulates the conditions inside, providing propulsion, communications and energy.
ESA module breakdown. THAT
Why it is important. Because as recognizes NASA itselffor the first time in history has entrusted a non-American company with the construction of a crucial element for a United States manned space mission. Among the chosen European ones is Airbus Crisa from Tres Cantos and also with a critical component
Who is Airbus Crisa. CRISA was born in 1985 independently, but since 2000 is integrated within the Airbus group. Its activity focuses on the development and manufacture of electronic components for space missions, both for the Airbus group and for third parties. In 2012, ESA launched the public tender and in 2014, Airbus Crisa signed the contract. As tells its directorwith Artemisa 1 its units recorded impeccable operation.
His resume includes his participation in some of the most ambitious space missions of recent years, such as electronics for the James Webb Space Telescope, monitoring Martian rovers Curiosity and Perseverancecomponents for the Ariane and Vega rockets and also for ESA’s Gaia star mapper or the electronics of the SPAINSAT NG antennaEurope’s most advanced military secure communications satellites.
Spain and the moon are old acquaintances. Spain’s connection with lunar exploration is not new. Without going any further, in the Apollo mission the antenna through which we received Neil Armstrong’s first words It was from Fresnedillas de la Oliva (Madrid).
Its successor is still in Madrid today, but has changed location: now It is in Robledo de Chavela and remains operational as part of NASA’s Deep Space Network. However, Airbus Crisa’s contribution to Artemis II represents a qualitative leap: we are talking about critical components integrated into a manned spacecraft.
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