ALLAN JACOB (ALETIHAD)
The UAE has begun work on the Lunar Gateway Station that will orbit the moon and will eventually land an Emirati astronaut on the lunar surface in a decade. The UAE joined the Gateway project on January 7.
Under a partnership with NASA and space agencies from Japan, the European Union and Canada, the UAE team at Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) will specifically work on the airlock component of the Gateway. They will also provide engineering support for the life of the lunar space station.
The airlock will allow crew and science research transfers to and from the habitable environment of Gateway’s pressurised crew modules to the vacuum of space. “These transfers will support broader science in the deep space environment, as well as Gateway maintenance,” NASA said.
Making the announcement on X, MBRSC Director General Salem Al Marri, said: “This week, we started the work on the Lunar Gateway Station after our leadership announced the UAE’s participation in the project.”
The UAE space team, meanwhile, held several meetings with NASA at Johnson Space Center to coordinate efforts.
“Our team at MBRSC is starting work on the Emirates Airlock, which will be used in the first lunar station in history,” Al Marri said. He added the journey was ambitious but could only be achieved with the team’s commitment and dedication.
NASA has also set up a mockup of the Habitation and Logistics Outpost (HALO), where astronauts will live, conduct research, and prepare for lunar-surface missions while visiting Gateway, humanity’s first space station around the moon.
This will be a home away from home for crew, and will also distribute power to the Gateway. The HALO module hosts “extensive deep space capabilities, including command and control systems, environmental regulation, and support for high-data-rate communications”, NASA said.
Speaking about HALO, Sultan Al Neyadi, the longest Arab astronaut in space who is visiting NASA with the MBRSC team, said: “Standing in the Lunar Gateway Station’s mockup felt like stepping into the future.”
“I visited the HALO module, the station’s first mockup, which includes crew headquarters, as well as environmental and communications systems. Proud of the UAE’s participation in this project,” he added.