Arianespace Envisions Post-2030 Ariane 6 Upgrades

Arianespace explores post-2030 upgrades for the Ariane 6 rocket, aiming to boost payload capacity for missions to the Moon.
Credit: Arianespace

Arianespace has announced that potential post-Block-2 upgrades for the Ariane 6 rocket are currently under assessment. These โ€œBlock 3โ€ improvements will likely be introduced in the 2030s if approved.

During an Ariane 6 Usersโ€™ Club event that took place at ESTEC two weeks ago, Arianespace outlined the current Block 2 Ariane 6 upgrades, which are expected to be available from the end of 2026. This variant of the rocket will include the more powerful P160 boosters, a more powerful Vinci upper stage engine variant, and improvements to the lower liquid propulsion module. The upgrades are expected to increase the rocketโ€™s payload performance to low Earth orbit by approximately two tonnes.

In addition to outlining the Ariane 6 Block 2 upgrades, the company also revealed that post-Block-2 improvements were under assessment, with the potential of improving the rocketโ€™s payload performance to lunar transfer orbit from 8.6 tonnes to 9.9 tonnes. This would enable the rocket to launch the ESA Argonaut lander with a single launch.

Argonaut is expected to be a multi-use lunar lander that will be capable of delivering up to 2,100 kilograms of cargo to the surface of the Moon. According to ESA, the lunar lander will have a launch mass of around 10 tonnes.

In an interview with SpaceNews in June 2024, ESA director of space transportation Toni Tolker-Nielsen said that the agency would only decide on whether or not to proceed with Block 3 upgrades in late 2025 during its next ministerial level council meeting.

If this subsequent set of Ariane 6 upgrades is not approved, ESA is also exploring multi-launch Argonaut missions. In this scenario, two Ariane 6 rockets would be launchedโ€”one equipped with a fuel reservoir and the other with an Argonaut lunar lander with its payload and a small amount of fuel. The pair would then dock to fully fuel the lander ahead of its journey to the Moon.