64 July/August 2019 _ PopularMechanics.com
Extending the metaphor of “home,”
NASA notes that its size (55 cubic meters of
habitable space) is similar to a studio apart-
ment, whereas the International Space
Station (ISS) is larger than a six-bedroom
house. Gateway will house four crewmem-
bers for missions lasting 30 days or longer.
If Gateway sounds reminiscent of the
ISS—which NASA proposes extending or
retiring in 2024—it is and it isn’t. While
Gateway employs some of the technology
developed for ISS, its purpose is fundamen-
tally different. The objective of ISS—which
orbits about 250 miles above earth—is
research. Gateway is built for exploration.
Check that. Sustainable exploration.
“ ‘ Reusability’ has become the catch-
word now in near-space activ it y,” says Jeffrey
Hoffman, Ph.D., a professor in the Massachu-
setts Institute of Technology’s Department
of Aeronautics and Astronautics, the first
astronaut to log more than 1,000 hours of
flight time in the Space Shuttle.
What this means for Gateway is teaming
with international and commercial partners
to develop and build reusable components.
The most critical piece is a reusable lunar
landing system that can make multiple trips
between Gateway and the moon. In Novem-
ber 2018, NASA announced nine finalists
for its Commercial Lunar Payload Services
contracts. The companies will compete for
design and manufacturing contracts. No
plans have been approved, but ambitions
are huge, even for NASA.
“For perspective, Apollo was a 15-metric-
ton lander with two crew that gave NASA
one use for three days (on the moon),” says
Fuller. “Gateway will support a 40-metric-
ton lander with four crew to go to the lunar
surface for a much longer duration.”WHY THE MOON? WHY NOW?
MANNED MOON LANDINGS are worth
debating—“Didn’t we do that 50 years
ago?”—but NASA sees plenty of reasons
to return. That assures Gateway’s preemi-
nence in future planning.
The moon likely holds information about
the origins of our solar system. Lackingand servicing platform, it will become the
jumping off point for flights to Mars.
“What Gateway means for us as a society
...it expands our concept of home to the lunar
vicinity,” says Sean Fuller, NASA’s Director
of Human Space Flight Programs and Inter-
national Partner Manager for the project.
Previously called Lunar Orbital Platform-
Gateway and then Deep Space Gateway in
2017, the program was originally conceived
to aid missions to Mars in the wake of the
2010 cancellation of NASA’s Constellation
program, which called for a manned return
to the moon by 2020. Rebranded simply Gate-
way, it is now the hub around which all of
NASA’s major plans for human space explo-
ration revolve.
Anyone with an interest in space likely
wants to go to Mars. NASA’s current plans
for achieving the dream have drawn fierce
criticism as a distraction from the ultimate
goal. That’s to be expected. But given that the
stakes are higher and the competition greater
than ever before, it’s critical we understand
our national space mission. And get it right.
“Make no mistake about it: We’re in
a space race today, just as we were in the
1960s,” Vice President Mike Pence told
the National Space Council in March. In
a speech crafted to stir a sense of urgency,
Pence invoked everything from China’s
“ambition to become the world’s pre-
eminent spacefaring nation” to a Biblical
certitude that “His hand will guide us” in
the goverment’s effort to rally the space
community.GETTING THERE
GATEWAY IS A cluster of interconnected
modules that will orbit 930 to 43,500 miles
above the lunar surface. Each module will be
dedicated to a primary task or tasks—power
and propellant, habitation, logistics and uti-
lization, airlock—but the craft will function
as a single integrated vehicle.
NASA will deliver large pieces of Gate-
way on multiple Space Launch System (SLS)
megarockets for assembly in space with
autonomous rendezvous and docking tech-
nology. It’s scheduled for completion in 2026.WE’RE IN A SPACE RACE TODAY,
JUST AS WE WERE IN THE 1960s”
PREVIOUSSPREAD:^NASA;^ THIS^ SPREAD:TOYOTA^ (ROVER);^ ESA/FOSTER^+^ PARTNERS^ (LUNAR^BASE);^NASA(POWERSYSTEM)Neil Armstrong’s “one
small step for man”
wasn’t small at all. He
had to drop about 3
1/2 feet from the foot
of the Eagle’s ladder
to the surface.
They could have been
locked out. When
lunar module pilot
Buzz Aldrin joined
Armstrong on the
moon’s surface, he
had to make sure
not to fully close the
Eagle’s hatch because
the cabin would
start repressurizing,
making it difficult to
re-enter.
Between 1969 and
1972, astronauts left
behind more than
footprints—mostly
things to help save
weight for takeoff:
▶ rovers and decent
and ascent stages
▶ astronaut boots
▶ a gold replica of an
olive branch
The Command Module
cabin was about as
roomy as a large car.
Pink Floyd jammed
the tune “Moonhead”
during the BBC’s live
television coverage of
the moon landing.
The American flag
planted on the moon
by the Apollo 11 crew
was likely purchased
at a Houston Sears
store by a NASA
secretary.
This anniversary year,
six teams of scientists
will begin to examine
one of three caches
of lunar regolith from
Apollo missions that
have been stored
at NASA’s Johnson
Space Center since
1972.
The Apollo Guidance
Computer weighed 70
pounds yet was less
powerful than today’s
smartphones.1 →2 →3 →4 →5 →6 →7 →8 →20 FACTS
YOU DIDN’T
KNOW ABOUT
APOLLO 11