A view into a clean room of the Airbus Defence and Space plant in Bremen, northern Germany, Feb. 16, 2017. EPA/FOCKE STRANGMANN

ESA Director of Human Spaceflight and Robotic Exploration David Parker (L) and Airbus Head of On-Orbit Services and Exploration Oliver Juckenhoefel (R) shake hands after the signing of the 'Orion European Service Module' contract at the Airbus Defence and Space plant in Bremen, northern Germany, Feb. 16, 2017. EPA/FOCKE STRANGMANN

A scale model of the 'Orion' spacecraft is displayed at a news conference on the occasion of the signing of the 'Orion European Service Module' contract at the Airbus Defence and Space plant in Bremen, northern Germany, Feb. 16, 2017. EPA/FOCKE STRANGMANN

Airbus Defence and Space on Thursday signed a 200 million euro contract with the European Space Agency for the production of a second European service module (ESM) for NASA's Orion space capsule.

The agreement was reached in Bremen, Germany, where Airbus Defense and Space began construction of a first module in May 2016.

"The ESM is a key element of Orion, the next-generation spacecraft that will take astronauts beyond low-Earth orbit for the first time since the end of the Apollo programme," Airbus Defense and Space said in a statement.

The ESM, installed below the module carrying the crew, "provides propulsion, power and thermal control and will supply astronauts with water and oxygen on their missions," the statement said.

The company was planning to begin assembly of the module, which would consist of more than 20,000 parts and components, by the middle of next year.

NASA's Orion spacecraft carried out its first unmanned test flight in 2014, and its second, Exploration Mission 1, is scheduled for 2018.

"This mission will be uncrewed and will take the spacecraft more than 64,000 kilometers (39,767 miles) beyond the Moon," the statement said.

The test flight will leave the Kennedy Space Center in Florida and last about 20 days.

The first manned mission, Exploration Mission 2, is set for 2021 and four astronauts are to take part.

Orion will push exploration into new areas of deep space.