Last week, the Artemis III Orion spacecraft that will carry ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano and NASA astronauts Randy Bresnik, Andre Douglas and Frank Rubio, took a major step forward as engineers connected its crew and service modules at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA. 

At the top of the spacecraft is the crew module, where the four astronauts will live and work during their mission. 

Directly beneath it, visible here as a white ring, is the Crew Module Adapter. This structure links the crew module to the rest of Orion, carrying electrical power, data and fluids between the spacecraft’s two main elements. 

The large white cylinder below is ESA’s third European Service Module, the powerhouse of Orion. It will provide propulsion, electrical power, thermal control, air and potable water for the crew.  

The red covers visible in this image protect the module’s 24 reaction control thrusters, which are used to finetune Orion’s orientation in space. In total, the European Service Module carries 33 engines that will be used throughout the mission to support orbital manoeuvres and rendezvous and docking demonstrations with test versions of commercial human landing systems from Blue Origin and SpaceX. Orion’s four European-built solar array wings, which will generate power for the spacecraft, will be attached later. 

At the bottom of the stack is the stage adapter cone, which connects Orion to the rocket that will launch it into space next year. 

Read more about the connection process here.