NASA’s Artemis program has passed a significant milestone in the development of the agency’s “Gateway” in the orbit of the Moon with the delivery of the Habitation and Logistics Outpost (HALO) module to Northrop Grumman’s facility in Gilbert, Arizona. Part of the moon-orbiting Gateway facility, HALO will serve as a habitat and office to astronauts and researchers travelling to and from the lunar surface under NASA’s Artemis moon program. Critical systems for power, data, life support, and temperature control are being attached to the module. Once finished, HALO will permit NASA and associates to conduct long-term missions and experiments in deep space as part of humanity’s lunar return.
NASA’s HALO Module Begins Final Outfitting for Artemis Lunar Gateway
As per the NASA report, the HALO module was shipped from Thales Alenia Space in Turin, Italy, on April 1, and the spacecraft was greeted during an April 24 viewing milestone. The gathering included remarks from NASA’s Lori Glaze, Gateway Program Manager Jon Olansen, and astronaut Randy Bresnik. Attendees such as NASA Administrator Senior Advisor Todd Ericson and local officials viewed the module and engaged in virtual reality tours showcasing its future role in lunar exploration. The event underscored HALO’s strategic importance to NASA’s lunar infrastructure.
At Northrop Grumman, engineers will install the core systems hardware into HALO, including propellant lines, thermal-control radiators, electric wiring, racks for avionics and other electronics, as well as the hardware to support the spacecraft’s life-support systems. Integration would also be designed for docking with Orion spacecraft, lunar landings and other visiting vehicles. This phase marks HALO’s transition from a basic structure to an operational habitat ready for rigorous space conditions.
ESA’s Lunar Link system will be installed on HALO for communication between lunar missions and Earth and will undergo rigorous environmental testing before launch. NASA is assembling the Power and Propulsion Element (PPE), a solar electric propulsion system, to support the Gateway station in lunar orbit. The 12-kilowatt thruster is currently being tested at Glenn Research Centre.
