Gateway: Lunar View
Lunar View is an ESA refuelling module for the lunar Gateway, the new international space station that will orbit the Moon as part of the Artemis programme. The module will also contain the only large windows of the Gateway, providing a view of the Moon.
Lunar View has four main functions: transporting cargo to the station, providing storage space, supplying propellant to the Gateway’s propulsion system and its windows.
The ESA refuelling module will be a crucial part of the Gateway, providing propellant for the station’s propulsion needs, such as attitude control and orbit change, over the 15 year it will operate in space.
The module will be able to bring 1.5 tonnes of cargo to the Gateway, and once attached to the station will provide 6.5 cubic metres of storage space, or the volume inside a small campervan. The exterior of the module will include attachment points for the Canadarm3 robotic arm that will serve the Gateway.
One of the most noticeable features of Lunar View is the six windows arranged all around the module; these are designed to be safe against orbital debris, while also showing a view of space around the Gateway and the Moon.
The Artemis V mission will bring Lunar View to the Gateway, propelled towards the station by the Orion spacecraft and its powerhouse, the European Service Module. There, it will meet ESA’s Lunar I-Hab, NASA’s power and propulsion module (PPE) and NASA’s Habitation and Logistics Outpost (HALO), on which ESA’s Lunar Link will be attached.
Lunar View is provided by ESA, that has selected Thales Alenia Space in France as the main contractor to develop the module. The module is in the preliminary design phase ending in 2025, when a review involving all stakeholders, including international partners contributing to the Gateway, will assess the design. After this, the module will enter a detailed design phase followed by manufacturing. Initially, the pressurised structure of the module will be built in Turin by Thales Alenia Space, after which Lunar View will be tested before delivery to NASA ahead of the Artemis V launch.
Quick facts
Launch: Artemis V 2030
Propellant storage: 1.7 tonne capacity for chemical and electric propulsion
Windows: six, placed in the full circumference of the module
Stowage capacity: 6.5 m3
Launch mass: 10 tonnes, including 1.5 tonnes of cargo
Structure: aluminium
Docking ports: two ports at each end of the module with propellant transfer connections (one to connect to NASA’s HALO, the other for visiting vehicles)
Note: Lunar View was previously known as ESPRIT Refuelling Module (ERM).
