With a mission and scope no smaller than ‘revealing new knowledge about the Moon, Earth and our origins in the solar system’, the Artemis project’s primary focus can be summed up by NASA’s website. They state ‘We will build sustainable elements on and around the Moon that allow our robots and astronauts to explore more and conduct more science than ever before.’ Its design and implementation will be used as a springboard for manned missions to Mars, and is an integral step in their plan for deep space exploration.
One of the key components to this is Project Gateway.
Gateway is an orbiting lunar outpost that will serve as a launching pad back and forth to the moon, with designs to allow the same for missions to Mars and deeper into the Solar System.
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson has said, “NASA is building the infrastructure to expand human exploration further out into the solar system than ever before, including Gateway, the lunar space station that will help us make inspirational scientific discoveries at and around the Moon. Just as importantly, these investments will help NASA carry out the United States’ horizon goal: to further develop and test the technology and science needed for a human trip to Mars.”
The HALO module integrated
into Gateway.
Of the many systems and components that will make up Gateway including the Power and Propulsion Element (PPE), designed and constructed by Maxar Technologies, the Heliophysics Environmental and Radiation Measurement Experiment Suite (HERMES), designed in-house at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, and along with its docking ports and logistic supply areas, at the heart of the station will beat HALO, the Habitation and Logistics Outpost for Gateway.
HALO is where the crews will live and conduct their research. This pressurized system will be the command center for all of the station's logistic and and scientific endeavors, and will serve as the main working space for everything from scientific study, to resupply and layovers.
Yesterday NASA awarded the fixed price HALO contract worth $935 million to Northrop Grumman.
Under the terms of the deal, Northrop Grumman will be responsible for attaching, integrating, and testing their HALO systems into Gateway, lead the integration of the PPE, and be responsible for support in its launch preparation. NASA is currently planning on a November 2024 launch on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy Rocket.
Dr. Jon Olansen, manager of the HALO project said “This action puts in place the final contract component of a diverse, multi-faceted team, distributed across the country and within some international partner facilities, working together to create and implement the initial Gateway capability. We are excited to work with Northrop Grumman and all the partners to deliver the cornerstone of sustainable human exploration in cis-lunar space.”
NASA mock up of HALO interior.
Northrop Grumman expressed not only their satisfaction in securing the contract, but also their confidence in an area they have long been an integral part of. Frank DeMauro, VP and GM for tactical space systems at Northrop Grumman said in a press release, “Leveraging our success with our Cygnus spacecraft, Northrop Grumman is perfectly positioned to deliver the HALO module, a critical piece for NASA’s Artemis program and our journey to the Moon and beyond. After recently completing a successful preliminary design review, we now look forward to completing the detailed design efforts and eventually bringing HALO to life in our Gilbert, Arizona, facility while also providing integration services for the final, combined vehicle before launch.”
With so many parts of Artemis starting to bear fruit, each new milestone seems bigger than the last and with the HALO project starting to take shape, many believe the completion of this most critical system will mark the end of Artemis’ beginning.
Let us know what you think in the comments.
WRITTEN AND EDITED BY Silek
IMAGES SOURCED FROM NASA