Technological wonder by '4 space giants' embarked on construction: Weighing 40 tons, nowhere else!

An integral part of NASA's plan to return American astronauts to the Moon this decade is the Lunar Gateway - a 40-ton space station that serves as
the country's first permanent outpost. humanity in low-Earth orbit (LEO). [The International Space Station (ISS) is currently flying in the LEO region but not beyond the LEO as the Lunar Gateway will do].

Lunar Gateway (called Gateway for short) will be an outpost orbiting the Moon, an important support for humans' long-term return to the Moon's surface, as well as a staging point for space exploration. deep space (like Mars). It is a key component of NASA's Artemis Program.

Along with the Space Launch System (SLS) super rocket, the Orion spacecraft and the human landing system that sent astronauts to the Moon, the Gateway is one of four key pieces in the plan to explore space. NASA's deep space.

Gateway is a collaboration between NASA, the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), to support surface operations. The moon also served as a staging ground for future exploration of Mars.

The Gateway will be significantly smaller than the International Space Station (ISS), initially consisting of only two modules with additional modules to be added over time. The first parts of the lunar approach station will be the Power and Propulsion Element (PPE) attached to the Logistics and Environmental Outpost (HALO), scheduled to launch together aboard SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket in November 2024.

Simulation image of PPE and HALO in lunar orbit.

PPE is a 60-kilowatt solar-powered propulsion spacecraft that is expected to provide Gateway with power, high-speed communications, direction control, and orbital capability. [In May 2019, NASA selected space technology company Maxar Technologies in Westminster, Colorado (USA) to develop and build PPE].

HALO was the first crew capsule for astronauts to visit the Gateway. Its main purpose is to provide basic life support needs to astronauts after they arrive in Orion and prepare for their trip to the surface of the Moon. [HALO is being developed by Northrop Grumman Company (USA) and is managed at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston.]

In February 2021, NASA selected SpaceX to provide launch services for PPE and HALO. Once integrated on Earth, PPE and HALO are targeted to launch together no earlier than November 2024 on a Falcon Heavy rocket from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Station, Florida, USA.

Lunar Gateway - First Space Station beyond Leo

The reason Gateway is relatively small in size is because most of the year, the station will not have astronauts living and working. This presents some unique challenges for Gateway. On the ISS, astronauts spend a significant amount of time maintaining the station, but the Gateway will have to maintain itself for long periods of time without any direct human assistance.

Julia Badger, Gateway automation systems manager at NASA's Johnson Space Center, explains: "The things that crews do aboard the International Space Station (ISS) will need to be handled by the Gateway itself. There's also a there's a big difference in the operating model. Currently, the ISS has full-time mission control. With the Gateway, we expect the ground station on Earth to have only 8 hours of operation per week. The ISS receives each day (from the ground station) to keep it running will still be needed on the Gateway, but the difference is that those commands come from the Gateway itself, rather than from humans on Earth."

A simulation image of the Gateway Space Station orbiting the Moon. (Source: NASA).

To make this a reality, NASA is developing a vehicle systems manager, or VSM, that will function like a ubiquitous computer system found on almost any spaceship. sci-fi boat. VSM will manage all Gateway functions on its own, taking care of any problems that arise, to the point of being able to manage them with intelligent software and sometimes from a remote person.

Julia Badger explains: "It's a new way of thinking compared to the ISS. If something goes wrong on the Gateway, we can either 'live' with it for a certain amount of time, or we must be able to fix it remotely or automatically".

While the Gateway itself could be thought of as a sort of robot, there was a limited amount that could reasonably and effectively be done through specialized automated systems, and NASA had to find a solution. A compromise between redundancy and complexity and volume. For example, there was some discussion about whether the Gateway's hatches should open and close on their own, and NASA ultimately decided to let the hatches operate manually. But that doesn't necessarily mean that the Gateway won't be able to open the trapdoor without human assistance.

1. Technology on Gateway: Robot IVR

"I hope eventually we will have robots that can open hatches," Julia Badger told us. She explains that the Gateway is being designed with potential inside station robots (IVRs) in mind. "What we're trying to do is make smart choices about the Gateway's design that don't create a lot of mass, while also making it easier for the robot to work in the station."

Robot astronaut at its test station in front of the ISS manipulator task board.

NASA already has a significant amount of experience with IVR. Robonaut 2 - a full-sized humanoid robot, spent several years aboard the International Space Station starting in 2011, learning how to perform tasks that would otherwise be required by human astronauts.

More recently, a trio of free-flying, toaster-sized, cube-shaped robots called Astrobee have taken up residence on the ISS, where they are testing autonomous sensing and navigation.

A NASA project called ISAAC (Integrated Systems for Automated and Adaptive Care) is currently exploring how robots like Astrobee can be used for a variety of tasks on the Gateway, from condition monitoring Automated freight arrivals.

ISS astronaut holding an Astrobee robot (this one is named Bumble) on the ISS.

NASA is actively working with partners to prepare for the launch of IVR robots on Gateway. However, building IVR robots is not an overnight process.

It's likely that for at least the first few years, Gateway will have to take care of itself without a robotic assistant inside. One of the Gateway's goals, however, is to operate completely autonomously for up to 3 weeks without any contact with Earth - the same as the 3-week period during a Solar Conjunct (Solar Conjunction) - This is the period of time Earth and Mars, in their eternal journey around the Sun, are obscured from each other by the Sun's own fiery ball. This is when the Sun blocks all communication between Earth and Mars (in the case of two planets connecting, of course).

2. Technology on Gateway: Robotic Arm

The IVR robot is only one half of the group of robots needed to keep the Gateway autonomous for long periods of time in lunar orbit.

Space stations rely on complex infrastructure outside of the station for power, propulsion, thermal control, and more. Since 2001, the ISS has been home to Canadarm2 - a 17.6-meter robotic arm that can move around the station to grasp and manipulate objects under human control from within the station or from the ground.

The Canadian Space Agency (CSA), in partnership with space technology company MDA, is developing a new robotic arm system for Gateway, called Canadarm3 - scheduled to launch in 2027.

Image of Canadarm3 outside the Gateway space station.

Close-up of Canadarm3 robotic arm.

Canadarm3 will include an 8.5-meter arm for manipulating spacecraft and moving large objects; and includes a smaller, more dexterous robotic arm that can be used for sophisticated tasks. The smaller robotic arm can even repair the larger arm if needed. But what really sets Canadaarm3 apart from its predecessors is the way it's controlled, according to Daniel Rey, Gateway Chief Engineer and systems manager at CSA.

"One of the things that is very novel about Canadarm3 is its ability to operate autonomously without any crew. This capability is based on a new generation of software and hardware that provides a sense of touch to the arm as well as to the body. its ability to react to its environment without direct human supervision," said Daniel Rey.

Canadarm3's autonomous tasks on the Gateway will include external inspections, unloading of logistics vehicles, load deployment, and Gateway repair by swapping damaged components for spares.

Although the Gateway station will be thousands of times farther from Earth than the ISS station, Daniel Rey explains that the extra distance (about 400,000 km) is not the key to Canadaarm3's additional autonomous capabilities.

"Surprisingly, the Gateway station's position in its orbit around the Moon has a time delay (with which the signal travels) to Earth that is no different from the time delay in low Earth orbit (LEO). With the ground. With Canadarm3, we realized that if we wanted to get Mars ready, we needed to build robotic arms with even more autonomous capabilities."