CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. NASA is teaming up with the European Space Agency to get astronauts beyond Earth's orbit.

Europe will provide the propulsion and power compartment for NASA's Orion crew capsule, officials said Wednesday. This so-called service module will be based on Europe's supply ship used for the International Space Station.

- NASA's human exploration chief, Bill Gerstenmaier

Orion's first trip is an unmanned mission in 2017. Any extra European parts will be incorporated in the first manned mission of Orion in 2021.

Space has long been a frontier for international cooperation as we explore, said Dan Dumbacher, deputy associate administrator for Exploration System Development at NASA Headquarters in Washington. This latest chapter builds on NASAs excellent relationship with ESA as a partner in the International Space Station, and helps us move forward in our plans to send humans farther into space than weve ever been before.

NASA's human exploration chief, Bill Gerstenmaier, said both missions will be aimed at the vicinity of the moon. The exact details are being worked out; lunar fly-bys, rather than landings, are planned.

NASA wants to ultimately use the bell-shaped Orion spacecraft to carry astronauts to asteroids and Mars. International cooperation will be crucial for such endeavors, Gerstenmaier told reporters.

The United States has yet to establish a clear path forward for astronauts, 1 1/2 years after NASA's space shuttles stopped flying. The basic requirements for Orion spacecraft are well understood regardless of the destination, allowing work to proceed, Gerstenmaier said.

"You don't design a car to just go to the grocery store," he told reporters.

Getting to 2017 will be challenging, officials for both space programs acknowledged. Gerstenmaier said he's not "100 percent comfortable" putting Europe in such a crucial role. "But I'm never 100 percent comfortable" with spaceflight, he noted. "We'll see how it goes, but we've done it smartly."

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NASA, Europeans uniting to send space capsule to moon, flights targeted for 2017 and 2021