HALO’s (Habitation and Logistics Outpost) primary structure is ready to be packaged for shipment to the United States. After completing a series of environmental tests in Thales Alenia Space’s plant of Turin, Italy, HALO’s pressurized structure, built by our company, will be delivered to Gilbert, Arizona, where prime contractor Northrop Grumman will complete its outfitting ahead of launch to lunar orbit with Gateway’s Power and Propulsion Element.

About HALO

As one of Gateway’s five modules, HALO will provide astronauts taking part in the ARTEMIS program with space to live, work, conduct scientific research, and prepare for missions to the lunar surface. Planned to be launched together with the Power and Propulsion Element (PPE), it will be the initial habitat for astronauts visiting the Gateway. It provides command, control, and data handling capabilities, energy storage and power distribution, thermal control, communications, and tracking capabilities.

It is equipped with 3 docking ports for visiting vehicles and future modules, as well as space for science and stowage. With NASA’s Orion spacecraft docked, it will be able to sustain up to four astronauts for up to 30 days as they embark on and return from, expeditions to the lunar surface.

The HALO design is derived from Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus spacecraft, whose pressurized modules were all built by Thales Alenia Space. HALO will have the same 3 m diameter as Cygnus, with a 1 m extension in length and radial ports to meet the living space requirements of visiting crews, bringing HALO's total length to around 7 m. Thales Alenia Space in Italy is responsible for the design and manufacturing of the HALO primary structure (the pressurized module), hatches, external secondary structures, the module and vestibule pressure control, electrical and fluidic feedthrough and lines, part of the heaters, meteoroid protection system as well as the structure interfacing with the NASA docking systems.

“Leveraging our strong expertise in designing space habitats, our company has designed and manufactured HALO’s pressurized structure and other key elements for enabling a safe space for astronauts”, said Walter Cugno, Vice President of Exploration and Science at Thales Alenia Space. “The imminent delivery of HALO to our customer, Northrop Grumman, at the Gilbert site in Arizona marks a major milestone in the realization of the Gateway lunar station and strengthens the importance of international cooperation in the new era of space exploration. The Lunar Gateway will serve as a crucial hub for future missions to the Moon and beyond, and HALO plays a key role in providing the necessary infrastructure to support astronauts during their time in space. This achievement places Thales Alenia Space at the forefront of space innovation and scientific advancement, confirming its status as a leader in the exploration”.

Thales Alenia Space has leveraged its longstanding experience to support agencies and partners supplying pressurized modules for the next humanity endeavor, life around the Moon. Thales Alenia Space is at the side of ESA for the development of Lunar View, Lunar Link, and Lunar I-Hab, the next home for international astronauts in space. The Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Center, United Arab Emirates Space Agency, awarded Thales Alenia Space a contract to build the Emirates airlock as their prime contractor, and recently the program has kicked off the early design phase for the Gateway Crew and Science Airlock that will be delivered on Artemis VI. Meanwhile, in Turin, manufacturing activities are about to begin with the production of the Lunar I-Hab and the design of the Lunar View tunnel. In Cannes, Thales Alenia Space’s teams are working on Lunar Link and Lunar View.

At the end of 2023, the Italian Space Agency selected Thales Alenia Space to develop the lunar Multi-Purpose Habitat that will be the first permanent outpost on the Moon. Based on an architecture incorporating liveable room and airlock functionality, plus mobility capability, this habitat will ensure the availability of vital resources stored or generated on the Moon’s surface. These new infrastructures are intended to offer the crew the possibility of working in complete safety and living in a comfortable lunar environment.

Last month, our company was also awarded a major contract by the European Space Agency to manufacture a lunar lander for cargo delivery. Dubbed Argonaut, the lander will fly to the Moon and land on its surface assuring the European autonomous access to the Moon. It is a pivotal moment for Europe’s autonomy in space exploration! Planned to be launched in the 2030s, Argonaut will deliver cargo, infrastructure and scientific instruments to the Moon’s surface. The first mission is envisioned to deal with delivery of dedicated navigation and telecommunication payloads as well as energy generation and storage systems, as European enterprises explore the Lunar southern area.

About Lunar Gateway

This outpost in lunar orbit is one of the pillars of NASA’s Artemis program, supporting sustainable exploration to the Moon and beyond. The Gateway, weighing about 40 metric tons, will be automatically assembled piece by piece and will be placed in a near rectilinear halo polar orbit (NRHO) around the Moon. The configuration will mainly comprise habitation modules for the crew equipped with docking ports, power and propulsion systems, logistics modules, communications with the Earth and Moon, and robotic arm and docking ports. It is not intended for permanent occupancy, but as it evolves, it will be able to host 4-person crews for periods of one to three months.

Gaining new experiences on and around the Moon will prepare NASA to send the first humans to Mars as early as the 2030s, and the Gateway will play a vital role in this process.

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