GILBERT, AZ — A key component for what will become NASA’s first space station to orbit the moon has landed in the Valley.
NASA Gateway’s first pressurized module and one of its two foundational elements, HALO, is undergoing testing and outfitting at Northrop Grumman’s satellite manufacturing facility in Gilbert. HALO — an acronym for Habitation and Logistics Output — arrived at Mesa Gateway Airport on April 1 on a huge cargo plane after being shipped from the Thales Alenia Space facilities in Turin, Italy.
Gateway will support NASA’s Artemis campaign to return humans to the Moon and chart a path of scientific discovery toward the first crewed missions to Mars, according to NASA.
After testing and outfitting in Gilbert, the HALO module will be shipped to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, where it will be integrated with Gateway’s Power and Propulsion Element.
