Engineers are testing the main module of Gatewaythe future lunar space station designed by NASA. This outpost orbiting the Moon will provide astronauts with a place to live, conduct scientific research, and prepare for moonwalks.
As the International Space Station approaches its planned retirement in 2030, NASA and its partners are working flat out on this new laboratory that will orbit much further from Earth.
Technicians are currently testing the Gateway core module at a facility in Turin. While it may not look like much at the moment, the hollow, metallic gray cylinder is a crucial part of NASA’s future Artemis lunar missions.
The main module, called HALO (Habitation and Logistics Outpost), will house life support systems for the astronauts, exercise equipment and scientific instrumentation.
An ambitious project with tight deadlines
While it may sound like science fiction, NASA and its partners plan to launch HALO and its propulsion element into lunar orbit on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket. already next year, with the aim of welcoming the first guests around 2028.
If successful, Gateway will become the first space station to orbit the Moonpaving the way for deep space exploration and future human missions to Mars.
Gateway will be the first space station to orbit the Moon
Maintaining a space station around a celestial body other than Earth It won’t be an easy task. While the ISS orbits just 400 km from Earth and can be reached in a few hours in an emergency, the Moon is over 380,000 km away, with a return trip taking 2 to 4 days.
An international project
Despite the challenges, NASA is receiving significant international support to build Gateway. Europe, United Arab Emirates, Canada and Japan are contributing key components to the construction of the station, which will have a unique orbit around the Moon.
Scientists evaluated many possible orbits before determining the optimal one for Gateway. The station will fly in a so-called “nearly rectilinear halo orbit“, which would look like a pearl necklace if drawn on paper.
This unusual orbit is thought to be fuel efficient and provide relatively close access to the lunar south pole, where astronauts will explore, search for water ice around shadowed craters, and practice living in an extraterrestrial environment.
A gradual expansion
The HALO section is only one of four modules where international astronauts will live and work. NASA said the assembly of the Gateway in space will occur in phases, starting with the Artemis IV mission, scheduled for no earlier than September 2028, and ending with Artemis VI.
The expansion pieces will be launched by the Orion spacecraft atop NASA’s Space Launch System, informally called the “moon megarocket.”
After endurance testing at Thales Alenia Space in Italy, the HALO module will be transferred to Gilbert, Arizona, where Northrop Grumman, its builder, will complete the outfitting and prepare it for launch.
With Gateway, NASA and its international partners are preparing to write an exciting new chapter in space exploration, paving the way for the return of humans to the Moon and future missions to Mars.
Source: www.tomshw.it
