In one way or another, the Lunar Gateway has lingered around the periphery of NASA’s human exploration program since the Obama administration.
Back then, the elements that eventually coalesced into the Gateway were geared toward a nebulous initiative to capture a small asteroid and reposition it closer to Earth. Under direction from the first Trump administration, NASA ditched the asteroid idea and repackaged the concept to become a mini-space station in orbit around the Moon.
NASA officials justified the Lunar Gateway program by highlighting its utility as a staging point or safe haven for astronauts traveling to and from the surface of the Moon. Crews could launch from Earth and travel to the Moon’s vicinity inside NASA’s Orion spacecraft, connect with the Gateway, and then float into their lunar lander already docked with the outpost.
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