Currently, engineers are busy manufacturing the first components of what will eventually become the Gateway Space StationOne day, if all goes according to plan, Gateway will serve as the first space station in lunar orbit and the first true lunar transportation hub. While not intended to be permanently inhabited, the station is being built to serve as a forward base for astronauts on the Artemis lunar missions through the 2030s and beyond.
And, while this may seem like a primarily question NASA project, bridge It is an international effort, with Europe, Japan, Canada and the United Arab Emirates all contributing to the station’s construction.
In the midst of all the efforts to build this incredible space laboratory, NASA released An artist’s 3D rendering of Gateway shows what the station could look like if everything goes according to plan, with all the modules currently planned. We took a closer look. Here’s what we found.
1. HALO
At the heart of the resort is the Housing and logistics station Module (HALO), a squat cylinder that will serve as half of Gateway’s main crew area.
Unlike the International Space Stationwhich orbits EarthGateway will not be a permanent outpost space. Instead, it will be more of a forward base. Starting with the second crewed Artemis mission, Artemis IV, astronauts will use Gateway as their operations center, living and working on board when they’re not walking on the moon below.
Related: NASA’s Gateway space station orbiting the Moon explained in pictures
HALO will be Gateway’s command and communications module. For periods when Gateway is unmanned, the module will contain software that will allow the station to operate largely autonomously. HALO will also house some of Gateway’s scientific projects, such as instruments to measure radiation levels inside the module.
Also on HALO we see the tendril of Canadarm3:a successor to the Canadian Space Agency iconic arm which currently serves the International Space Station. Once installed, Canadarm3 will be able to carry out repairs autonomously.
2. PPE
At one end of HALO is Gateway Power and propulsion element (PPE). The station’s primary power source, PPE, will rely on a pair of deployable solar panels to generate 60 kilowatts of electricity.
Not only will this electricity power the rest of the station’s needs, it will also power the station’s electric propulsion system, located between the two solar panels. PPE will use this electricity to ionize xenon gas. Gateway will rely on this propulsion system to keep itself afloat. a very eccentric orbit which ranges from 3,000 to 70,000 kilometers (1,875 to 43,750 miles) from the lunar surface.
Together, HALO and PPE will form the initial seed of Gateway. If all goes according to plan, they will reach the Moon in time for Artemis IV, which is currently scheduled to launch in 2028.
3. Lunar I-Hab
At the other end of HALO is a second squat cylinder, similar in size to HALO itself. Lunar I-Hab.Built jointly by the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), the I-Hab will serve as Gateway’s second crew module: the second half of its crew area.
True to the “hab” in its name, I-Hab will be the crew’s living and sleeping quarters. The four crew members on an Artemis mission will share a space about the size of a trailer’s interior. The module will contain a galley, bunks and an exercise area.
Mounted on the side of the I-Hab, shaped like a bubble hanging off the outside of the module, is an airlock that will allow the crew to exit the station to spacewalksThe United Arab Emirates will provide this airlock.
Current plans call for Artemis IV to deliver I-Hab to Gateway when it flies there in 2028.
4. Lunar view
Returning to HALO, moored alongside it, we see the golden cylinder of Lunar view (known until recently as the European System Providing Infrastructure for Supply and Telecommunications, or ESPIRIT).
Lunar View, another module built by ESA, will serve as an expansion pack for Gateway. Lunar View will only join HALO, PPE and I-Hab on a later mission. In the current programme, this is Artemis V, which is scheduled for launch in 2030.
Lunar View is both functional and aesthetic. The functional part is the module’s main function: additional storage space. Lunar View will hold the cargo volume of a small van, no doubt a welcome addition to the rather cramped quarters of HALO and I-Hab. The module will also hold additional fuel for PPE.
The aesthetic part comes in the form of the largest windows on Gateway. Lunar View will have six windows, arranged around the capsule and protected against orbital debrisallowing Gateway residents to admire, well, a breathtaking view of the moon.
5. Spacecraft
The video doesn’t just show Gateway’s design, it also gives a glimpse of what Gateway might look like one day when it’s fully operational as a lunar transit platform. Three spacecraft are attached to the station.
At the end of the I-Hab is moored the The Orion capsulethe backbone of the Artemis missions and the craft that astronauts will use to travel to and from Earth.
The cylinder attached to the side of I-Hab is the Deep Space Logistics (DLS) space cargo ship, which has a specialized docking port. Each new Artemis mission will bring one with it to Gateway, carrying equipment, supplies, and scientific experiments that they will use during their mission. time at the moon.
Finally, attached to the far side of HALO and Lunar View is the Human Landing System (HLS) — the ship that, starting with Artemis IV, will actually take astronauts to the lunar surface.
6. Scientific experiments
In addition to astronauts, Gateway will host a handful of scientific payloads. Each new Artemis mission will bring its own set of experiments. NASA’s video shows two experiments that are expected to be conducted outside Gateway.
Attached to the side of the PPE is the supplied ESA European Radiation Sensor Network (ERSA), a set of instruments for measuring space radiation beyond the shielding of Earth magnetic fieldIn fact, ERSA’s life will begin before it even reaches Gateway, as it will measure the radiation that PPE experiences as it flies past Earth. Van Allen Belts.
Attached to HALO is the Experimental suite of environmental and radiological measurements in heliophysics (HERMES), which will measure particles in the Earth magneto tail. Basically, as the Earth is shaken by solar windThe magnetotail passes through the Moon whenever it is in the right place in its orbit.
These experiences will inform us about the solar systemEarth’s high-energy environment is certainly very rich. But space agencies and scientists also hope to use the information gleaned from these experiments to better prepare astronauts for much longer missions in the much more distant future, such as crewed trips to space. Marchmaybe.