UAE-built airlock for Nasa’s Gateway space station unveiled

Visuals demonstrate the sophisticated engineering that will go into developing the massive structure

A new animation of Nasa’s planned lunar orbit station depicts the UAE's airlock module in striking detail.

The video demonstrates how the airlock, used for safely entering and exiting the station, is integrated seamlessly into the Gateway.

The landmark space station is expected to welcome its first group of astronauts in 2028.

The UAE plans to send an astronaut to the Gateway for a future mission in a further boost to the nation's burgeoning space sector.

“Nasa and its international partners will explore the scientific mysteries of deep space with Gateway, humanity’s first space station to orbit the Moon,” the space agency said in a statement.

“Starting with the Artemis IV mission in 2028, the international teams of astronauts living, conducting science and preparing for missions to the lunar South Pole region on Gateway will be the first humans to make their home in deep space.”

UAE supports Moon project

The Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre is developing the Emirates Airlock and will supply it to Nasa to be launched at the end of this decade in exchange for a mission to the Gateway for one of its astronauts.

Four Emiratis currently make up the country’s astronaut corps, though the crew member has yet to be selected.

“The airlock will enable spacewalks and transfer of hardware and science experiments from inside the Gateway to the vacuum of deep space,” said Nasa.

“It could also be used as an additional spacecraft docking point.”

The airlock is to have state-of-the-art features, including advanced life-support systems and automated-docking capabilities.

These elements are crucial for ensuring the safety and efficiency of operations on the Lunar Gateway, from where astronauts will carry out scientific research and prepare for future deep-space missions.

Other parts of the station include the power and propulsion element (PPE), which will make it a powerful solar-electric spacecraft.

It will use the Sun’s energy to power the station and ionise xenon gas to produce thrust to maintain Gateway’s orbit of the Moon.

The Habitation and Logistics Outpost, or Halo, will be one of the modules in which astronauts live and work.

Halo and PPE are expected to be the first two structures of the Gateway that will be launched into space next year.

Apart from the UAE, Nasa has other international partners that are developing parts of the station.

The European Space Agency is providing the Lunar I-hab, another module in which crew will live, work and prepare for activities on the lunar surface.

It is also developing the Lunar View Module, which will help the PPE refuel, act as a cargo logistics hub and a window with a view of the Moon and deep space.

The Lunar Link, also being built by Europe, will provide communications between the station and astronauts carrying out missions on the lunar surface.

Canada will be supplying Nasa with the Canadarm3 robotic arm, placed on the external part of the station for maintenance tasks and to help astronauts during spacewalks.

Japan’s space agency Jaxa is developing components of the I-Hab, including cameras.

Elon Musk's SpaceX and Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin are building vehicles that will help astronauts descend to the lunar surface from the Gateway under the Artemis programme.