Lunar Gateway
The Lunar Gateway, or simply Gateway, is a space station which Artemis program participants plan to assemble in an orbit near the Moon. The Gateway is intended to serve as a communication hub, science laboratory, and habitation module for astronauts. It is a multinational collaborative project: participants include NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA), the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) and the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC). The Gateway is planned to be the first space station beyond low Earth orbit.
An illustration of the Gateway's Power and Propulsion Element (PPE) and Habitation and Logistics Outpost (HALO) in orbit around the Moon in 2025 | |
| Station statistics | |
|---|---|
| Crew | Max 4 (planned) |
| Launch | November 2025 (planned) |
| Carrier rocket | Falcon Heavy SLS Block 1B |
| Launch pad | Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39 |
| Mission status | In development |
| Pressurised volume | ≥125 m3 (4,400 cu ft) (planned) |
| Periselene altitude | 3,000 km (1,900 mi) |
| Aposelene altitude | 70,000 km (43,000 mi) |
| Orbital inclination | Polar near-rectilinear halo orbit (NRHO) |
| Orbital period | ≈7 days |
| Configuration | |
Configuration as of 16 November 2022 | |
| Part of a series on the |
| United States space program |
|---|
The science disciplines to be studied on the Gateway are expected to include planetary science, astrophysics, Earth observation, heliophysics, fundamental space biology, and human health and performance. Construction is planned to take place in the 2020s. The International Space Exploration Coordination Group (ISECG), which is composed of 14 space agencies including NASA, has concluded that Gateway systems will be critical in expanding human presence to the Moon, to Mars, and deeper into the Solar System.
The project is expected to play a major role in the Artemis program after 2024. While the project is led by NASA, the Gateway is meant to be developed, serviced, and utilized in collaboration with the CSA, ESA, JAXA, and commercial partners. It will serve as the staging point for both robotic and crewed exploration of the lunar south pole and is the proposed staging point for NASA's Deep Space Transport concept for transport to Mars.