Context: Recently, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has finalised the contract to design the Habitation and Logistics Outpost (HALO) for its Gateway Lunar Orbiting Outpost.
Key Points

• The contract worth $187 million has been awarded to Orbital Science Corporation of Dulles, Virginia, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Northrop Grumman Space.
• One of the most unique features of the Gateway is that it can be moved to other orbits around the Moon to conduct more research.
• The Gateway is being built by both international and commercial partners and will support exploration on and near the Moon and later to Mars as well.

What is the contract for?

• NASA has issued this contract to design the habitation and logistics (HALO) support for the Gateway, which is a part of NASA’s Artemis program that aims to send the first woman and the next man to the Moon by 2024.
• The HALO refers to the pressurised living quarters where astronauts will spend their time while visiting the Gateway.

What is NASA’s Gateway Lunar Orbit outpost?

• The Gateway is a small spaceship that will orbit the Moon, meant for astronaut missions to the Moon and later, for expeditions to Mars.
• It will act as a temporary office and living quarters for astronauts, distanced at about 250,000 miles from Earth.
• The spaceship will have living quarters, laboratories for science and research and docking ports for visiting spacecraft.
• The Gateway will act as an airport, where spacecraft bound for the lunar surface of Mars can refuel or replace parts and resupply things like food and oxygen.
• This will allow astronauts to take multiple trips to the Lunar surface and exploration of new locations across the Moon.
• NASA has targeted the completion of the Gateway for 2026, while work on the spaceship is already underway.