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For instance, NASA will be using the Space Launch System (SLS) and Orion spacecraft to send astronauts back to the Moon starting in 2024. The core of the Gateway - the Power and Propulsion Element (PPE) and the Habitation and Logistics Outpost (HALO) - will also be launched by 2024 using a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket.
Paired with a reusable lunar lander, this orbital habitat will allow for long-duration missions to the lunar surface. Between 2024 and 2028, NASA also intends to add the International Habitation Module (I-HAB), the European System Providing Refueling, Infrastructure and Telecommunications (ESPRIT), and possibly more modules to the Gateway.
Welcome back to our Life in 2050 series. Our previous installments explored how the world of warfare, economics, and life at home could drastically change by mid-century. For our fourth installment, we will be taking a look at what will be happening beyond Earth. This will include everything from Earth orbit to the very edge of the solar system. and beyond.
In the next three decades, human beings will enter the realm of space like never before. This is due in part to the way that public interest in space exploration has been revitalized, thanks to a number of exciting missions that have been mounted since the turn of the century and growing public engagement through social media.
Lunar Gateway space station is an international collaboration led by NASA with Europe, Japan and Canada
Core components will launch on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket as early as May 2024 for lunar orbit
The first components launched for the moon will cover habitation and power with others following in 2026
Astronauts will travel to the moon in the Orion spaceship, dock with the Gateway then two of their number will transfer from the space station to the lunar surface in a SpaceX Starship and remain there for up to a week