Just over half a century has passed since the Apollo 11 mission commander, Neil Armstrong, uttered the immortal words “The Eagle has landed” on 20 July 1969. This famous statement echoed at NASA Mission Control Center and reached a global audience via radio and TV, amid great enthusiasm and profound astonishment – emotions that perhaps remain unmatched for an event that represented the maximum expression of human endeavour.
Those images, still in black and white, opened the doors to science fiction. The sight of the astronauts walking on the Moon for over two hours was indelibly marked in the memories of those who watched and followed that magical night live. After the first Moon landing, other missions followed, with Apollo 17 being the final one in December 1972, when humanity last left its traces and footprints on the lunar soil.
Throughout the intervening decades, the desire to continue exploring space has remained vivid for many of us, with it being a much dreamed of destination because it is still largely unknown. However, thanks to the combined efforts of international space agencies, humanity's desire to return to the Moon will become soon a reality.
If everything goes to plan, visits to the Moon will be longer in their duration, offering the opportunity to experiment and build real bases, from where astronauts can continue their journeys towards unexplored worlds.
In 2024, for four astronauts, the Moon will no longer represent the final destination, but the launching bridge to Mars. The American space agency, NASA, recently explained how astronauts are preparing to face this long journey to the red planet. The “explorers” will stop at a new operational base of the Moon, called the Gateway, which is comparable to the International Space Station (ISS). The Gateway programme will be a cooperation between NASA, the Japanese Space Agency, the Canadian Space Agency and the European Space Agency. Russia’s space agency Roscosmos is also considering being involved.
Located 380,000km from the Earth, the Gateway will be a cislunar station, reachable in five days of travel. It will orbit the Moon at a distance of approximately 3,000km, and be the first human station built beyond Earth’s orbit. The Gateway will be a fundamental support for experiments on the Moon, offering a privileged position for direct observation and for driving remote vehicles on the surface. It will mark the second giant leap in humanity and the entry into a new era of human evolution – a crucial step in the future of science, technology and exploration of deep space.
It is an essential element in NASA's Artemis programme to bring humanity back to the lunar surface by 2024, and will include a woman walking on the Moon for the very first time. Artemis will therefore be organised into three parts: launch, exploration and Moon landing.
For this new adventure and great ambition to return to the Moon within just four years from now, Thales Alenia Space, a joint venture between Thales (67%) and Leonardo (33%), has a key role to play in opening the frontiers of knowledge and safely carrying out future human missions on Mars and in deep space explorations.
In 2018, ESA assigned to Thales Alenia Space the responsibility to study the two elements of the Lop-G (Lunar orbital platform – Gateway), namely I-Hab and Esprit, thus recognising Thales Alenia Space’s skills already acquired in the construction of more than 50% of the ISS housing volume. The latter includes the dome, the last element which, in addition to being a concentrate of technology, has added an incredible dimension to the life of astronauts on board: the opportunity to enjoy an exceptional and unique view of our planet from the space, images that are popular worldwide.
Leveraging this in-depth expertise accumulated over decades of work and dedication, the Thales Alenia Space team in Turin continues to work on the lander, the housing module, capitalising on previous experience. I-Hab will therefore represent the evolution of the ISS and a new generation of modules intended for space exploration.
In addition, Thales Alenia Space will collaborate with the American company Dynetics on NASA's tender for the Moon landing system. The international consortium led by Dynetics is one of the teams chosen by NASA to compete in the initial design and development phase of the lander, up to the Preliminary Design Review. The stringent technical requirements defined by NASA matched with Thales Alenia Space expertise, the only European company in the core team of the consortium led by Dynetics, a pioneer of space exploration thanks to over 40 years of experience in the sector, to support and safely accompany the return of humanity on the lunar terrain for a long time. The Human Landing System, a vehicle within the Artemis programme, is a very challenging project, in competition with Space X and the National Team led by Blue Origin.
Furthermore, in the Thales Alenia Space laboratories, engineers are evaluating how to exploit the essential elements of the lunar subsoil with the most appropriate technologies. Among these there will be 3D printing, which could enable us to "build in space" using regolith as a raw material, which is the dust that covers the Moon. This kind of material will allow the building of solid bricks, even more resistant than the ones we use on Earth for our homes, and the discovery of other innovative solutions that enable – through the combustion of minerals – production of fuel for continuing the journey to Mars.
This year has also seen Leonardo initiate an exciting challenge in space robotics activities. Through ESA and the Italian Space Agency, Leonardo has been entrusted to work on the design and implementation of the flight model of PROSPECT (Package for Resource Observation, in-Situ analysis and Prospecting for Exploration Commercial exploitation and Transportation), the auger and the mini-laboratory for the ESA and Roscosmos mission ‘Luna-27’. The auger will be drilling for ice and evaluating the possibility of finding traces of water, as well as analysing the chemical elements of the surface and of the lunar subsoil.
The Moon is set to become an autonomous service location where astronauts could have a rest and refresh themselves before continuing the journey into the deep cosmos.
©Thales Alenia Space