ESA unveils roadmap to land first European astronaut on Moon in 2030 & on Mars by 2040

The European Space Agency (ESA), on July 7, released a road map for its planetary exploration with an aim to land its astronauts on the Moon by 2030 and send them on a historic voyage to Mars a decade later. Named 'Terrae Novae 2030+', the document lays out plans for the agency, which include maintaining a strong presence in the low-Earth orbit and to stimulate a more vibrant and dynamic commercial space ecosystem.

Europe aims for Moon in 2030, Mars in 2040

"The vision of the Terrae Novae 2030+ strategy roadmap is for Europe to step up further and enter the top tier in selected exploration areas with a sustained presence in and utilisation of Low Earth Orbit (LEO), the first European astronaut to the Moon surface before 2030 and Europeans to Mars by 2040", the document reads. With this roadmap, ESA is also aiming at autonomy and self-sufficiency citing the modern world conflicts.

Notably, the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war resulted in the suspension of the ExoMars and Luna missions, which were being developed by ESA and the Russian space agency, Roscosmos. The agency also intends to develop an independent means of launching and landing its future missions to alleviate dependencies on international partners (Russia in this case). 

Meanwhile, for Moon, ESA is planning on building autonomous Moon landing capabilities for European-led missions to realise its ambitious goal. The plan also mentions the development of the Lunar Gateway, a permanent orbital space station around the  Moon for research and habitation, before humans establish a base on the lunar surface. For Mars, on the other hand, Europe will implement a vision to master survivability technologies, radioisotope power sources, entry, descent, and landing for small and eventually large logistics payloads before sending a European to Mars in 2040.

"Terrae Novae is not only literally about exploring new worlds, but by describing the limitless opportunities for discovery, economic growth and inspiration it also expresses our ambitions for Europe’s future innovators, scientists and explorers", David Parker, ESA’s Director of Human and Robotic Exploration, said in a statement.