NASA's Tiny, Cramped Space Station: Inside the Moon Orbiting Gateway Station

Andi C., Tech Times 08 January 2023, 11:01 am

In a few years, NASA and its international partners hope to start building the Gateway station in the Moon's orbit.

The I-Hab mission to the Moon is not expected until 2027, despite the possibility that the American HALO module will launch as early as 2024. The team is currently working on the Critical Design Review, a crucial step before hardware manufacturing can start, and has begun construction on a full-size mockup for testing human interaction with the habitat setting.

However, recent reports reveal that the Gateway station will only be about one-sixth the size of the International Space Station (ISS), with two habitation modules that will make it nearly impossible for crew members to have any personal space.

Inside NASA's Moon Orbiting Gateway Station

Space reports that the Gateway space lab, which should be finished by the end of 2030. According to an architect involved in the station's design, the living quarters of NASA's moon-orbiting Gateway station will be so small that astronauts will not be able to stand upright inside.

During the design process, the architects had to submit to practical requirements imposed by the project's parameters, according to Waclavicek. They had to give up their earlier plans for larger modules that would have provided a larger amount of habitable space comparable to that found at the International Space Station because it would be impossible to launch major components to the Moon.

"The International Habitation module will have habitable space of about 8 cubic meters [280 cubic feet] and you will have to share it with three others," René Waclavicek, a space architect at LIQUIFER Space Systems. "In other words, that would be a room 2 by 2 by 2 meters [6.6 by 6.6 by 6.6 feet]. And you are locked in there. There are other rooms but they are not bigger and there are not many of them."

Each crew member residing in the i-Hab will be given around 53 cubic feet (1.5 cubic m) of a personal private area that was secured by doors that closed. Additionally, staying on board the Gateway will be difficult for more reasons than just the confined living space. The life-support equipment inside the module will be loud and vibrating most of the time.

What Is Nasa's Gateway Mission?

NASA states that the Gateway, a critical factor of the Artemis program, will function as a multi-purpose outpost circling the Moon that acts as a staging area for deep space exploration and offers crucial support for a long-term human return to the lunar surface. In order to construct the Gateway, NASA is collaborating with business and international partners.

Additionally, Mashable reports that before deciding that this orbit would be the most suitable for a future space station, scientists looked at a wide range of possible orbits. For instance, a low-lunar orbit would circle the Moon very closely.

The base would be placed closer to the surface in this case, but much more fuel would be needed to overcome the gravity of the Moon. On the other hand, a far-off retrograde orbit would be more stable and fuel-efficient but less practical for reaching the earth.