NASA and UAE Join Forces for Artemis Gateway Crew and Science Airlock Collaboration

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has been selected to provide the Crew and Science Airlock for Gateway, NASA's proposed lunar space station that will succeed the International Space Station and be in a lunar orbit.

The Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) of the UAE will be responsible for the development of the module. This is a significant responsibility for the UAE, as the Gateway station is intended to support NASA's missions for long-term exploration of the Moon as part of the Artemis Accords, of which the UAE is a signatory.

The Crew and Science Airlock, as its name suggests, will support transfers to and from the station for astronauts and their in-space experiments. In addition to this, the Gateway will serve as a communications hub for Moon exploration and a possible holding area for rovers and other robotic devices.

MBRSC will not only operate the airlock but also provide engineering support for the life of the lunar space station. As part of the agreement, a UAE astronaut will fly to the lunar space station on a future Artemis mission.

NASA states that the airlock will allow crew and science research transfers between the pressurized crew modules of Gateway and the vacuum of outer space. This will support broader science in the deep space environment and facilitate Gateway maintenance.

"The United States and the United Arab Emirates are marking a historic moment in our nations' collaboration in space, and the future of human space exploration," said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. "We are in a new era of exploration through Artemis - strengthened by the peaceful and international exploration of space. The UAE's provision of the airlock to Gateway will allow astronauts to conduct groundbreaking science in deep space and prepare to one day send humanity to Mars."

The Gateway project currently involves five partner agencies: NASA, European Space Agency (ESA), Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Canadian Space Agency (CSA), and the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC).

Canada has already formalized its involvement in the Lunar Gateway program by committing to build its space robotics system, Canadarm3. The United Arab Emirates was one of the original eight signatories of NASA's Artemis Accords.

Image: NASA - an artist's concept of a government reference airlock

See also: NASA and JAXA agree on Lunar Gateway life support systems