SpaceX Dragon XL simulation of the journey to the Gateway (Image from SpaceX)

The final manned Moon landing and expedition, by Apollo 17, lasted from December 7-19, 1972. Lunar Module Pilot, Harrison Schmitt was a member of the three man crew; see this hackaday article

“The last men on the Moon: Helium 3”

We now embark upon a journey with NASA’s Artemis program (See “NASA: From the Moon to Mars”) along with NASA’s “Gateway” program, a very important aspect of deep space exploration that will land the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024. The Space Launch System (SLS), the most powerful rocket ever built, and the Orion program are also key elements in this plan to travel where no human has ever traveled before.

SpaceX has the first Gateway Logistics Services contract to deliver supplies to the first lunar outpost. The SpaceX Dragon XL is a key component here; astronaut pilot Victor Glover and crew will fly the second  mission later in 2020. 

NASA Gateway has power and propulsion, a habitation and logistic component, and logistic supply capabilities (Image from NASA)

The Gateway is essentially a planned outpost that will orbit the Moon and provide critical support for astronauts’ sustainable and long-term return to the surface of the Moon. NASA will be able to have new efforts on, as well as orbiting, the Moon that will prepare NASA to ultimately send astronauts on a long journey to explore Mars as we explored the Moon in the late 60s and early 70s.

The Gateway is planned to be a port for deep space travel for spacecraft traveling far beyond the Moon and Mars as well.

There is a Gateway Power and Propulsion Element (PPE), a Habitation and Logistics Outpost (HALO), and logistics needed for Earth explorers to fly beyond Earth’s confines into places where humans only dreamed about----until now!

Power and Propulsion Element (PPE)

The PPE is composed of a high power, 60kW solar electric propulsion spacecraft which will power high-rate communications equipment, attitude control systems, and orbital transfer missions. Maxar Technologies will develop, build and support the PPE. Maxar also developed the robotic arm for the Perseverance Rover just launched towards Mars in July 2020.

Deep Space Gateway PPE showing the concepts for solar arrays (Image from NASA)

Habitation and Logistics Outpost (HALO)

HALO is the crew cabin that astronauts will utilize upon their arrival, on the Orion spacecraft, to the Gateway. HALO provides life support to the astronauts as they prepare for their departure to the lunar surface. HALO will also provide control and data handling, energy storage and power distribution, thermal control, communications and tracking capabilities, and environmental control/life support for the Orion spacecraft and its crew. HALO also has docking ports for other future visiting vehicles and storage space for science.

As for the logistics, for astronauts getting ready to travel to the surface of the Moon from Gateway, deliveries of critical, pressurized as well as unpressurized cargo, science experiments and supplies will be brought up from Earth by SpaceX. Commercial Lunar landers will deliver NASA-provided payloads for performing unmanned science investigations as well as demonstrate advanced technologies on the lunar surface, thus paving the way for NASA astronauts from Gateway to land on the lunar surface by 2024.