Gateway refuelling module gets a boost

The amendment concerns ESA’s Lunar View, a crucial element for the Gateway which will supply the lunar station with xenon and chemical propellants to extend its lifetime, as well as provide a pressurised volume with six large windows, where astronauts will be able to store cargo and supplies and enjoy a 360° view of the outside of the Gateway and the Moon.

As a result of NASA’s choice to launch Lunar View aboard the larger and more powerful version of the SLS launcher, ESA and Thales Alenia Space have agreed to significantly increase the size of Lunar View, which will now span 4.6 metres wide and be 6.4 metres long, with a total mass of 10 metric tonnes (versus the initial measurements of 3.4 metres wide, 3 metres long and 6 metric tonnes). This increase will allow:

• more storage space to accommodate up to 1.5 tonnes of cargo at launch, reducing resupply flights to the lunar outpost
• installation of two attachment points on Lunar View to accommodate the Canadian Space Agency’s robotic arm Canadarm3
• housing the avionics suite equipment inside the module for easier maintenance

ESA selected Thales Alenia Space in France as the main contractor to develop the module, which is in the preliminary design phase until next year, after which a detailed design phase will occur followed by manufacturing. Initially, the pressurised structure of the module will be built in Turin by Thales Alenia Space, with contributions also from Thales Alenia Space in the United Kingdom and OHB. Once built, the module will be tested before delivery to NASA ahead of its launch.

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 as well as NASA’s power and propulsion module PPE and habitation module HALO, on which ESA’s Lunar Link will be attached.