When Artemis IV astronauts travel to the Moon, they will be the first to visit Gateway, a space station orbiting the Moon designed to support human exploration and scientific research. Currently, the Habitation and Logistics Outpost (HALO), a foundational module of Gateway, is being carefully positioned in a cleanroom at Thales Alenia Space in Turin, Italy. The module's complex structure, built to sustain astronauts and enable scientific operations in lunar orbit, has successfully passed a series of demanding environmental stress tests.
In the cleanroom, technicians will carry out the final installations required before the module is shipped to the United States. This process includes installing and verifying valves and hatches, conducting leak tests, and integrating external secondary structures. Once these steps are complete, HALO will be carefully packaged and transported to Gilbert, Arizona, where Northrop Grumman will complete its final outfitting.
HALO is one of four pressurized modules that will make up Gateway, providing Artemis astronauts with living quarters, research space, and logistical support for missions to the lunar surface. The module will also accommodate scientific payloads, including a space weather instrument suite mounted via a Canadian Space Agency robotic interface, facilitate lunar communications through the European Space Agency's Lunar Link system, and provide docking points for visiting spacecraft, such as NASA's Orion and lunar landers.
Developed through collaboration with industry and international partners, Gateway is a critical element of NASA's Artemis program, advancing lunar exploration while laying the groundwork for future human missions to Mars.
Related Links
Gateway Lunar Space Station
Mars News and Information at MarsDaily.com
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