You may have heard me mention the Artemis program on this channel, the ambition of NASA
to get a human colony on the Moon, and eventually on Mars.
A big part of this venture is Gateway: a joint effort by NASA, ESA, Roscosmos, JAXA and CSA,
the same space agencies that are currently working together on the ISS.
And like the ISS, Gateway will be a space station, but not around the orbit of Earth,
but instead around the Moon!
So, how will it work?
What does it hope to achieve?
And why have a space station around the Moon in the first place?
I’m Alex McColgan, and you’re watching Astrum, and in this video we will investigate
the Gateway mission, and find out why it is such a crucial part of NASA’s ambitions.
This video is a special collaboration with the Robotitus channel and our own Astrum Spanish
channel, if you are Spanish speaking then be sure to check out their channels in the
description below!
The Gateway mission will coincide with the launch of NASA’s new rocket, the SLS, or
the Space Launch System.
This rocket is the most powerful built to date, even surpassing the old Saturn V rocket.
It is huge, and it has to be because NASA hopes to be able to launch 130-tonnes worth
of payload into a low Earth orbit, with a smaller, yet still heavy payload to even further
destinations.
This will be important, because as I mentioned, the end goal of the Artemis program is to
get humans to the Moon and Mars, and humans tend to need a little more to keep them alive
than a robotic mission would.
Launching all this life support into space means that not only has Gateway been designed
to be a communications repeater for several deep-space missions, but it will also serve
as a pitstop.
It incorporates a cabin module in which crews can prepare before embarking on other missions.
However, unlike the SpaceX rockets which are trying to cut costs by utilising reusable
boosters, an SLS launch will be expensive as it uses disposable boosters.
Combine this with the cost of research and development, and this could bring the cost
per launch in the region of an eye-watering $2 billion.
As such, the SLS has had its opponents throughout development, but regardless, they are committed
now and it’s only a year away from its first voyage.
Putting the arguments of cost aside, the SLS will be the most powerful rocket ever created
by NASA, a true monster capable of sending a large amount of cargo into space with more
power than ever.
Just have a look at some of these tests they have recently run!
One launch alone could get around 45 tonnes to Mars.
The rocket’s first task will be to get the Orion module, a human ready capsule that will
provide the housing needed to get a crew into space and back again, re-entering the Earth’s
atmosphere safely with a heat shield and parachute.
The loading capacity of the SLS will not only allow the launch of Orion and its crew, but
also some of the different modular components and instruments needed to assemble Gateway.
As such, the construction of Gateway will be a long process, as they won’t be able
to launch the whole of it in one go.
In fact, construction is not expected to finish until 2026, and that’s only for the most
basic and necessary modules.
Fortunately, due to Gateway’s modular design, possibilities to gradually expand the space
station is a real and likely possibility, depending on the needs of future missions.
Although NASA have plans to get to Mars in the 2030s, NASA is also highly dependent on
the budget it receives.
So, while there are several missions proposed up until 2028, including several piloted missions,
they depend on the success of the first missions, and whether NASA continues to get the budget
it’s getting from the US government.
At this point though, I can’t envisage it not going ahead, barring total disaster, as
China are hot on America’s heels and have equally ambitious sights set on the Moon and
beyond, and America’s efforts are probably spurred on by China’s advances in space.
We might have a good old-fashioned space race on our hands!
Now, while this is done in the name of science, with the billions of tonnes of precious metals
in space, and with the progress in technology space missions bring, you could certainly
see this being commercially viable as well as being important in a militaristic sense,
and you can be sure neither party wants to be left behind on this one.
Going back to Gateway, NASA intends to start with the basics, so the first phase of Gateway's
construction will focus on installing the power and propulsion modules, to expand it
later with the HALO module, which will be a very basic space habitat which will allow
a stay of at least 30 days for a crew of 4 people.
During the construction process of Gateway, NASA will send a rover to the lunar South
Pole.
This rover’s special task is to map the location of the water trapped at the bottom
of the craters, so we can better understand just how much is there, and to see how pure
it is.
This is because one of the proposed places for a settlement on the Moon is around its
south pole, where the presence of water ice has been confirmed, hidden at the bottom of
eternally dark craters which protect the ice from the Sun’s rays.
These craters could be perfect candidates for a possible habitat as they would protect
astronauts residing there too.
The peaks around the craters, on the other hand, would be exposed to the most amount
of sunlight, allowing solar arrays to capture energy from the Sun more easily, for power
and for the cultivation of plants.
Remember, solar arrays wouldn’t be so effective anywhere else on the Moon due to its days
that last a month, and two weeks in the dark isn’t so useful.
Although we know from previous missions that water does exist at the bottom of South Pole
craters, we don’t have a good handle on how much, as the lack of light there makes
observations from space impossible.
This is going to be one of the obstacles the rover will need to overcome, it will have
to travel into a crater on battery power alone, and leave again before it runs out so that
the rover can charge them up again using the solar panels.
The design of the rover is still pending, and in fact it will be picked as part of a
design contest proposed by NASA to different companies.
Once Gateway is built, NASA plans to launch the Artemis 3 mission, whose crew will be
stationed at Gateway, using the Orion module to expand the station's living space.
Scientists will be able to study the effects on astronauts outside the substantial protection
of the Earth’s magnetosphere.
During these short stays, they will test whether radiation exposure can be reduced to an acceptable
amount.
Also, as part of the mission, two members of the crew will remain in orbit in Gateway,
while the other two will land at the south pole of the Moon, where they will remain for
about one week.
They too will be expected to perform several moonwalks, again to examine samples of water
ice and perform other scientific observations around the lunar South Pole.
It is proposed that included in this team will be the the first female astronaut on
the Moon, although names have not yet been picked.
The space suits they use will be a vast improvement over the Apollo counterparts.
They incorporate a new design to grant much more mobility.
If you remember the videos of these first Apollo missions to the Moon, you will remember
that the astronauts moved around very awkwardly, jumping around like rabbits.
In this mission they can walk and flex their legs.
So, thanks to this greater mobility and the use of modern cameras, we can expect a series
of epic videos of these astronauts walking on the Moon.
Building on the Artemis 3 mission, NASA is planning to start construction on the Moon
itself, to build a lunar colony that they hope will one day be self-sufficient.
Everything that is learned in this colony in the relative proximity to Earth will be
valuable experience which can be used eventually on the red planet.
This includes oxygen production systems, water recycling, plant cultivation, and in general,
making the rooms suitable for a long-term human presence.
Going to the Moon may be more economically viable than going to Mars, at least in the
short term, because not only are the costs of sending something to the Moon are lower,
but because the Moon can be a source of rare materials, for instance Helium-3, which would
be useful in a future nuclear fusion generator on the Moon, and it might have uses on Earth
too.
This element is exceptionally rare on Earth and at one point even reached the price of
$2,000 per gram.
In addition, the Moon could also be used as a steel plant for the manufacture of metal
foams.
On Earth, this is achieved by injecting pressurized air into cast metal, but the process is tricky
because bubbles can be produced that rise and explode, making the manufacturing of metal
foams on Earth very difficult and expensive.
On the other hand, in the low Lunar gravity, this process would be much simpler and the
spongy structure of the metal much more uniform and of a higher quality.
Once the material is ready, it is very easy to send it to Earth, since you don’t need
a large rocket, due to the weak lunar gravity.
One possibility is that it could be launched back to Earth with a magnetic catapult, something
like a railgun, launching the order back to Earth or into orbit around the Moon to be
picked up by a spacecraft later on.
Again though, that’s something for the far future.
After Artemis-3 there are up to four more proposed missions, which will continue to
expand Gateway as a hub for more lunar missions, but with the end goal looking to finally send
humans to Mars.
So, fingers crossed for the success of these missions!
I feel like exploration is in humanity’s blood, and these really are the new frontiers
in this day and age.
And with China pressing ahead with their own space program, we could be in for some exciting
years ahead with regards to space exploration!
Thanks for watching!
And a big thank you again to Rafa at Astrum Spanish and Aldo from Robotitus for making
this video possible.
A big thanks as well to my Patreons and members that help support the channel.
Find the links for all of this in the description.
All the best, and see you next time!