<
https://theconversation.com/whats-the-point-of-a-space-station-around-the-moon-274765>
"The Lunar Gateway is planned space station that will orbit the Moon. It is
part of the Nasa‑led Artemis programme. Artemis aims to return humans to the
Moon, establishing a sustainable presence there for scientific and commercial
purposes, and eventually reach Mars.
However, the modular space station now faces delays, cost concerns and
potential US funding cuts. This raises a fundamental question: is an orbiting
space station necessary to achieve lunar objectives, including scientific ones?
The president’s proposed 2026 budget for Nasa sought to cancel Gateway.
Ultimately, push back from within the Senate led to continued funding for the
lunar outpost. But debate continues among policymakers as to its value and
necessity within the Artemis programme.
Cancelling Gateway would also raise deeper questions about the future of US
commitment to international cooperation within Artemis. It would therefore risk
eroding US influence over global partnerships that will define the future of
deep space exploration.
Gateway was designed to support these ambitions by acting as a staging point
for crewed and robotic missions (such as lunar rovers), as a platform for
scientific research and as a testbed for technologies crucial to landing humans
on Mars.
It is a multinational endeavour. Nasa is joined by four international partners,
the Canadian Space Agency, the European Space Agency (Esa), the Japan Aerospace
Exploration Agency and the United Arab Emirates’ Mohammed Bin Rashid Space
Centre.
Most components contributed by these partners have already been produced and
delivered to the US for integration and testing. But the project has been beset
by rising costs and persistent debates over its value.
If cancelled, the US abandonment of the most multinational component of the
Artemis programme, at a time when trust in such alliances is under
unprecedented strain, could be far reaching.
It will be assembled module by module, with each partner contributing
components and with the possibility of additional partners joining over time."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
