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An interplay of light and shadows cast the docking ports for Gateway, humanity’s first space station around the Moon, into sharp relief.
Built by NASA commercial partner Northrop Grumman, HALO (Habitation and Logistics Outpost), is one of four modules where international teams of astronauts will live, conduct science, and prepare for missions to the lunar South Pole region. The module’s main structure is currently undergoing testing in Turin, Italy. One docking port seen inside HALO, image right, is where a cargo spacecraft and Gateway’s Lunar View module, provided by ESA (European Space Agency), will dock. The docking port shown outside of HALO, image left, is where the SpaceX Starship and the Blue Origin Blue Moon Human Landing Systems will dock during the Artemis IV and V missions, respectively.
Gateway will launch to lunar orbit with the Power and Propulsion Element, provided by Maxar Space Systems, and later expand with ESA’s Lunar I-Hab and Lunar View modules, the Crew and Science Airlock provided by the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre, advanced external robotics provided by CSA (Canadian Space Agency), and critical hardware from JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency).
NASA and its international partners will explore the scientific mysteries of deep space with Gateway. The space station is central to the Artemis architecture that will return humans to lunar surface for scientific discovery and chart a path for the first humans to Mars.