On 3 September 2025, we had the privilege of receiving a special accolade

NASA recognised our company for our contribution to Artemis I. Aboard the first Orion spacecraft, which successfully orbited the Moon in November 2022, were two of our ASTRO APS star trackers.

Artemis is the most ambitious human spaceflight programme since Apollo. NASA's recognition is not only an acknowledgement of our work but also a testament to the growing importance of European technology in international missions.

Our guests, Howard Hu, NASA Orion Programme Manager, and Paul Anderson, Orion Exploration Mission-2 Director at our client Lockheed Martin, presented the award following a lecture on the Artemis programme.

Four of our colleagues were individually honoured for their work, and our CEO accepted the award on behalf of the entire company:

"To receive such an extraordinary honour on behalf of #teamspace was one of the most moving moments of my now somewhat lengthy career in spaceflight. Thank you to our partners at NASA and Lockheed Martin. It is a great privilege to collaborate with you on such a remarkable programme that is bringing humanity back to the Moon. And above all, thank you to all our colleagues whose outstanding achievements have made this tremendous success possible!"

Pictures: Jena-Optronik GmbH

An interesting "fun fact": The mission patch of Artemis 1, which is printed on the certificate, was genuinely in space and flew aboard the Orion spacecraft.

For the next mission, everyone can be indirectly involved: Artemis II Send your name around the Moon!