The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has chosen Thales Alenia Space to develop an airlock module for NASA’s lunar Gateway, despite ongoing uncertainty about the program’s long-term future.
Proposed design of Crew and Science Airlock module for the lunar Gateway. Credit: NASA
On February 4, representatives from Thales Alenia Space and the UAE’s Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) signed a contract for the project. While the financial details of the agreement were not disclosed, this selection marks a major milestone for both the UAE’s space ambitions and the development of the Gateway.
The airlock will serve as a key component of the lunar Gateway, a planned space station that will orbit the Moon in a near-rectilinear halo orbit and act as a staging point for Artemis missions. It will enable spacewalks, facilitate the deployment and retrieval of scientific instruments, and provide an additional docking port for spacecraft visiting the Gateway.
“This new pressurized element is crucial for the lunar Gateway as it will be designed to enable extravehicular activities for astronauts in particular,” said Hervé Derrey, CEO of Thales Alenia Space. “This new contract further reinforces Thales Alenia Space’s leadership in space transportation systems, orbital infrastructure, and deep-space exploration.”
Thales Alenia Space is already a major contractor for the Gateway. The company is: A subcontractor to Northrop Grumman for the Habitation and Logistics Outpost (HALO) module, producing its primary structure. The manufacturer of the Lunar I-Hab module, a collaborative effort between the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). The builder of ESA’s ESPRIT module, which will provide communications, refueling capabilities, and an observation window.
The UAE’s Growing Role in Artemis
The UAE’s commitment to the Gateway project stems from an agreement with NASA, announced in January 2024, in which the country pledged to provide the airlock module in exchange for a seat on a future Artemis mission to the station. Since then, MBRSC has evaluated proposals from American and European aerospace companies before selecting Thales Alenia Space for the job.
The airlock is set to be the final major module added to the Gateway, with a planned launch aboard Artemis 6, utilizing the enhanced Space Launch System (SLS) Block 1B rocket. This mission is currently scheduled no earlier than 2030. The Lunar I-Hab module is expected to launch with Artemis 4, while ESPRIT will follow on Artemis 5.
Despite ongoing work on the Gateway, its future remains uncertain. The incoming Trump administration is expected to reassess the Artemis program’s architecture, potentially making budget cuts or shifting focus toward Mars exploration. Critics argue that the Gateway is not essential for lunar landings, as demonstrated by the Artemis 3 mission, which will bypass the station and have Orion dock directly with SpaceX’s Starship lunar lander.
However, NASA officials continue to emphasize the Gateway’s strategic importance. Mark Wiese, manager of NASA’s Deep Space Logistics program, defended the station’s role at the SpaceCom conference on January 29:
“Gateway gives us that staging platform to figure out different locations we need to be on the Moon and takes that quarter-century of experience from the space station,” he said. “It provides contingency and abort scenarios and really sets us up for Mars and long-term exploration.”
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