A maze of cables and sensors snakes through a major piece of Gateway, humanity’s first space station around the moon, during a key testing phase earlier this year to ensure the lunar-orbiting science lab can withstand the harsh conditions of deep space.
HALO (Habitation and Logistics Outpost) is one of four Gateway modules where international teams of astronauts will live, conduct science, and prepare for missions to the lunar South Pole region. Other elements will be provided by the European Space Agency, Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency, and the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Center of the United Arab Emirates. The Canadian Space Agency is providing Gateway’s Canadarm3 advanced robotics system.
HALO is provided by Northrop Grumman and their subcontractor, Thales Alenia Space. The module completed testing in Turin, Italy, before its expected arrival to the United States in 2025. Northrop Grumman will complete final outfitting of HALO and integrate it with Gateway’s Power and Propulsion Element for launch ahead of the Artemis IV mission on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket.
Citation:
Gateway: Wired for deep space (2024, December 20)
retrieved 20 December 2024
from https://phys.org/news/2024-12-gateway-wired-deep-space.html
This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no
part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.
