
Orion (spacecraft)
Sign in to saveAlso known as MPCV, Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle
The Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV) is a partially reusable crewed spacecraft used by NASA for the Artemis lunar exploration program. It consists of a crew module (CM), a space capsule built by Lockheed Martin, and is paired with a European Service Module (ESM) provided by the European Space Agency (ESA) and manufactured by Airbus Defence and Space. Orion supports a crew of four beyond low Earth orbit for up to 21 days undocked or up to six months when docked. It is equipped with a NASA Docking System port and glass cockpit displays. It is intended to be launched atop the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket with a tower-mounted launch escape system.
Orion is NASA's spacecraft designed to carry astronauts to the Moon and beyond as part of the Artemis program, built by Lockheed Martin with a European service module and capable of supporting a crew of four for extended missions. It matters because it represents the next generation of human spaceflight technology that will enable NASA to return people to lunar exploration after decades.
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Orion Spacecraft - NASA
Editor’s Note: NASA is updating this webpage to align with the latest Artemis program updates announced in February and National Space Policy initiatives
nasa.gov →NASA explores the unknown in air and space, innovates for the benefit of humanity, and inspires the world through discovery. Technicians inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at Kennedy Space Center in Florida install and test antennas on a solar array on Wednesday, March 20, 2024, for the agency’s Europa Clipper spacecraft. NASA’s future will continue to be a story of human exploration, technology, and science. We will go back to the Moon to learn more about what it will take to support human exploration to Mars and beyond. We will continue to nurture the development of a vibrant low-Earth orbit economy that builds on the work done to date by the International Space Station. NASA engineers will develop new technologies to improve air transport at home and meet the challenges of advanced space exploration. Our scientists will work to increase an understanding of our planet and our place in the universe. The Artemis II crew, from left: NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman and Christina Koch; CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen; and NASA astronaut Victor Glover pose for a group photo after viewing the Orion spacecraft in the well deck of the USS John P. Murtha, Saturday, April 11, 2026, in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California. When NASA opened for business on October 1, 1958, it accelerated the work already started on human and robotic spaceflight, and over the last 65 years it has continued to push the boundaries of aeronautics and space exploration. Now NASA is preparing to take humankind farther than ever before, as it helps to foster a robust commercial space economy near Earth, and pioneers further human and robotic exploration as we venture into deep space. NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover took a selfie with the Ingenuity helicopter, seen here about 13 feet from the rover. This image was taken by the WASTON camera on the rover’s robotic arm on April 6, 2021, the 46th Martian day, or sol, of the mission. Jared “Rook” Isaacman is the 15th Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. An entrepreneur and skilled pilot, Isaacman commanded Inspiration4, the first all-civilian orbital spaceflight aboard the Dragon spacecraft. The mission was a major milestone in commercial spaceflight. Matt Anderson is NASA’s deputy administrator. Anderson is a decorated Air Force command pilot in multiple aircraft with more than 5,000 flight hours, including more than 650 in combat. Throughout his 24-year Air Force career, he served on several senior U.S. Department of War staffs and commanded at multiple levels before retiring in 2021. Amit Kshatriya is NASA’s associate administrator. Kshatriya serves as the highest-ranking civil servant at the agency and as a senior advisor to the administrator. Kshatriya leads the agency’s 10 center directors, as well as the mission directorate associate administrators at NASA Headquarters in Washington. Align your talents with your passion and find out why NASA consistently is named a best place to work in the federal government. At NASA, you'll have an opportunity to work on unique and challenging projects that truly make an impact on humanity. Stay up-to-date on the latest news from NASA–from Earth to the Moon, the Solar System and beyond.
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Encyclopedic overview
The Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV) is a partially reusable crewed spacecraft used by NASA for the Artemis lunar exploration program. It consists of a crew module (CM), a space capsule built by Lockheed Martin, and is paired with a European Service Module (ESM) provided by the European Space Agency (ESA) and manufactured by Airbus Defence and Space. Orion supports a crew of four beyond low Earth orbit for up to 21 days undocked or up to six months when docked. It is equipped with a NASA Docking System port and glass cockpit displays. It is intended to be launched atop the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket with a tower-mounted launch escape system.
Orion was conceived in the early 2000s by Lockheed Martin as a proposal for the Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) to be used in NASA's Constellation program and was selected by NASA in 2006. After the cancellation of the Constellation program in 2010, Orion was extensively redesigned for use in NASA's Journey to Mars initiative; later named Moon to Mars. The SLS became Orion's primary launch vehicle, and the service module was replaced with a design based on ESA's Automated Transfer Vehicle.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Orion (spacecraft)” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.