NASA and ESA Unveil Space Station News That Will Orbit the Moon

It has been a long time since humankind plans to return to the moon - not only to conduct further explorations on the satellite itself, but also to create a base there for future space missions to other planets. And recently, NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) have announced plans to build a space station that, like the International Space Station, should remain in orbit around the star.

Lunar Station

According to Alfredo Carpineti, from the IFLScience! Website, the station was named the Lunar Gateway - or Lunar Passage, and, if constructed, will be placed in an almost rectilinear halo orbit, meaning that the structure must travel a trajectory. elongated elliptical train around the moon, as you can see in the following simulation:

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This orbit you saw in the animation above will take 7 days to complete a loop around the moon, and during the course the station will be between 3, 000 and 70, 000 kilometers from the lunar surface. In addition, in order for the structure to remain in this trajectory, the lunar station will be equipped with a propulsion module that will ensure that the structure does not move off course.

Space transfer

According to Alfredo, the idea behind the construction of the Lunar Gateway is to facilitate future space missions, as the structure will facilitate transit between Earth and the moon, as well as supporting further travel, as would be the case. case of missions to Mars and beyond. By the way, while it seems that this extra little paradigm is counterproductive - in terms of saving time and resources - the fact is that "commuting" will make travel easier and less expensive, at least in terms of energy consumption.

Regarding the construction of the station, in addition to NASA and ESA, other space agencies should participate in the project, such as JAXA, from Japan, ROSCOSMOS, from Russia, and the Canadian agency, and the assembly is expected to begin at the The addition of modules should take place over the next year and then, if all goes as expected, a manned mission should be sent to the Moon in 2024. After this trip, another 4 launches should be conducted to send more modules and, as planned, assembly of the Lunar Gateway should be completed by 2028.