Prof. Dr. Ulrich Hermann in The Pioneer: The Lunar Race is Back.
Prof. Dr. Ulrich Hermann on Europe's industrial and strategic moment in the return to the Moon. Originally published as a guest contribution in The Pioneer.
For the first time since December 1972, astronauts are flying to the Moon. Artemis II marks a turning point, not only for crewed spaceflight, but for an entire generation of strategic and industrial decisions that Europe cannot afford to defer.
At the centre of this mission sits a European achievement few outside the industry fully appreciate: the European Service Module, integrated by Airbus in Bremen on behalf of ESA. It provides propulsion, energy, water and oxygen for the Orion spacecraft. Components from approximately 100 companies across thirteen European nations are built into this system. Eleven kilometres of wiring, 33 thrusters, and decades of engineering depth condensed into a single, mission-critical module.
Europe, in other words, is not watching from the sidelines. It is keeping astronauts alive on their way to the Moon.
The rules of the game are shifting.
In his guest contribution for The Pioneer, Einstein Managing Partner Prof. Dr. Ulrich Hermann examines how Washington's recent policy changes are reshaping the transatlantic space architecture and what this means for European industry, institutions and strategic sovereignty.
The questions are no longer hypothetical: How does Europe maintain relevance in a programme increasingly defined by American commercial actors and political priorities? What role can European industry play beyond the current mandate? And what happens to the hundreds of millions already invested if the framework changes faster than the institutions that funded it?
These are the fault lines where Einstein operates. At the intersection of space, industrial transformation and geopolitical realignment. The return to the Moon is not a science story. It is a strategy story. And Europe's next moves will determine whether it remains a partner at the table or a supplier on the margins.
Read the full analysis on The Pioneer
Prof. Dr. Ulrich Hermann is Managing Partner of Einstein Space Consulting and General Partner of Einstein Industries Ventures. He brings two decades of CEO and board-level experience across media, mechanical engineering and automotive transformation. His current work focuses on Europe's strategic positioning in the space and defence economy.
