Artemis III ESM3 Engine Nozzle Install Completion

The European Service Module and crew module adapter for NASA’s Artemis IV mission is seen on a work stand on the right, while the Orion crew module for the agency’s Artemis V mission can be seen in the background inside the high bay of the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026. The Orion crew module is the astronaut habitat and reentry capsule, while the European Service Module provides propulsion, power, and life-support resources during Artemis missions. Under Artemis, NASA will send astronauts on increasingly difficult missions to explore more of the Moon for scientific discovery, economic benefits, and to build on our foundation for the first crewed missions to Mars.

The European Service Module and crew module adapter for NASA’s Artemis IV mission is seen on a work stand on the right, while the Orion crew module for the agency’s Artemis V mission can be seen in the background inside the high bay of the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026. The Orion crew module is the astronaut habitat and reentry capsule, while the European Service Module provides propulsion, power, and life-support resources during Artemis missions. Under Artemis, NASA will send astronauts on increasingly difficult missions to explore more of the Moon for scientific discovery, economic benefits, and to build on our foundation for the first crewed missions to Mars.

Photographer NASA/Ben Smegelsky
Album Artemis_III
Location O&C