Plans to land the first Europeans on the Moon 'will be in place by the end of the year'

A timeline for putting the first Europeans on the surface of the moon will be in place by the end of the year, the European Space Agency has announced.

David Parker, the agency’s Director of Human and Robotic Exploration, made the comments during a space conference in Wales earlier this week.

Plans for a European moonshot are already in motion, he added, part of which would see the construction of a space station in orbit above the lunar surface.

The lunar gateway would provide not only a stepping stone to the moon but also to Mars, as well as providing a test bed to explore how space living impacts humans. 

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A timeline for putting the first Europeans on the surface of the moon will be in place by the end of the year, the European Space Agency has announced

Dr Parker — who is also the former head of the UK Space Agency — discussed the plans during the 2019 UK Space Conference that was held in Newport, Wales, from September 24–26.

‘We want to go to the Moon in partnership with NASA,’ Dr Parker told the Telegraph.

‘There is some idea, especially in Europe that none of this is really happening, well I want to say it is.’

A key step first announced by the ESA and NASA in July will be the establishment of the lunar space station, dubbed the ‘Gateway’, which is expected to be constructed within the next decade.

The station will serve as a half-way house between the Earth and the Moon, acting as a place of shelter, making trips to the moon more efficient and providing a launch pad for missions heading further out into the solar system.

Much like the International Space Station, the Gateway will be a permanent base on which astronauts will live for extended periods, conducting research on-board and making regular excursions down to the moon’s surface.

The lunar space station, Gateway, will orbit the moon in an ellipse — with a path that will resemble a halo — when it is assembled in the next decade, NASA and the European Space Agency have announced (Pictured, in an artist’s impression)

‘The first elements of the gateway are already under contract. Multiple studies are underway for a human exploration lander.’

‘We have the plan in front of ministers. If they make the right decisions we will hopefully get the first Europeans on the Moon.

‘Europe can punch above its weight on a global scale.’

David Parker, the agency’s Director of Human and Robotic Exploration, made the comments during a space conference in Wales earlier this week

Landing on the moon and constructing a base in its orbit will be a vital step in the longer-term vision of landing humans on Mars, Dr Parker said.

‘Building a rocket to go to Mars is the least difficult bit,’ he noted.

‘It’s how to support humans, how physically you protect them from radiation.

‘So the Moon is a great place to prepare for deep space.’

European Space Agency contributing states will send representative ministers to Seville, Spain, on November 26, where final approval for the mission will be granted and funding approved.

Britain will remain a participant in the agency, even in the event of the country’s departure from the European Union.

 ‘We still have many challenges if we want to get a human on Mars one day,’ Dr Parker concluded.

‘Mars has been waiting for us for three and half billion years, we have to get there.’

WHAT IS THE LUNAR GATEWAY?

Russia and the United States are cooperating on a NASA-led project to build the first lunar space station, codenamed the Lunar Gateway.

The agreement, signed in September 2017, is part of a long-term project to send humans to Mars.

The crew-tended spaceport will orbit the moon and serve as a ‘gateway to deep space and the lunar surface,’ NASA has said.

The first modules of the station could be completed as soon as 2024.

Russia and the United States are cooperating on a NASA-led project to build the first lunar space station, codenamed the Lunar Gateway

An international base for lunar exploration for humans and robots and a stopover for spacecraft is a leading contender to succeed the $100 billion International Space Station (ISS), the world’s largest space project to date.

Nasa asked European scientists and industry leaders to join the agency in September 2018.

Accepting the offer could cost the European Space Agency (ESA) – of which Britain is a key member – an estimated £1 billion ($1.3 billion).

A decision on whether to become involved will be taken at a meeting of European science ministers next year.

In the mean time, the ESA is drawing up plans for the form its section of the station could take.