A view of Gateway as it could be configured on the arrival of the Orion spacecraft, powered by the European Service Module-5, with the Esprit module in tow during the Artemis V mission.

The Gateway will be assembled and operated in the vicinity of the Moon, where it will move between different orbits and enable the most distant human space missions ever attempted.

Placed farther from Earth than the International Space Station, the Gateway will offer a staging post for missions to the Moon. Its flight path is a highly-elliptical orbit around the Moon – bringing it both relatively close to the Moon’s surface but also far away making it easier to pick up astronauts and supplies from Earth – around a five-day trip.

Like a mountain refuge, it will provide shelter and a place to stock up on supplies for astronauts en route to more distant destinations. The spaceship will also offer a place to relay communications and can act as a base for scientific research.

The Gateway will weigh around 40 tonnes and will include the PPE service module, the Esprit communications module and refuelling module, an airlock for spacewalks, and the I-Hab for the astronauts to live as well as an operations station to command the Gateway’s robotic arm or rovers on the Moon. Astronauts will be able to occupy it for up to 90 days at a time.

More on the Gateway here: www.esa.int/gateway

More on the Artemis V mission here: www.esa.int/artemisV