European Space Agency to Help NASA Take Humans Beyond Moon

[Buster's Uncle]

European Space Agency to Help NASA Take Humans Beyond Moon
By The Associated Press ·BERLIN — Feb 8, 2017, 11:58 AM ET






The European Space Agency says it will contribute key components for a future NASA mission to take humans around the moon within the next few years.

Astronauts haven't gone beyond a low orbit around Earth since 1972, when NASA ended its Apollo program.

The European Space Agency and aerospace company Airbus have already delivered a propulsion and supply module for an unmanned flight of NASA's new Orion spacecraft next year.

The agency said Wednesday that it and Airbus have now agreed with NASA to build a module for a second, manned mission that will fly around the moon as early as 2021.

Orion is eventually intended to expand human exploration to deep-space destinations such as Mars or asteroids.


http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/european-space-agency-nasa-humans-moon-45350688