The accommodation facility for astronauts, which is scheduled to be launched at the end of next year as part of the Artemis program that will return humans to the moon, was opened to the press.
The "Artemis Project" is an international lunar exploration project led by the United States, with Japan also participating, and as part of this project, a new space station called "Gateway" will be built, where astronauts will stay while orbiting the moon. is scheduled to be constructed.
A facility named ``HALO,'' which is part of the space station and is scheduled to be launched at the end of next year, was shown to the press at the development site in northern Italy.
This facility, approximately 3 meters in diameter, will be launched carrying communication systems, life support equipment, and other equipment, and will be the first facility for astronauts to stay as they build a new space station.
The facility that was opened to the public has almost finished assembling the aluminum outer wall, and is scheduled to be transferred to the launch site in the United States by the end of the year after completing internal assembly and testing.
Facilities to explain the inside of the new space station were also opened to the public.
Franco Fenoglio of Thales Alenia Space, the company developing the facility, emphasized that Japanese technology is used in the life support equipment that supplies oxygen to the facility, adding, ``In a few years... I'm sure this will be the start of preparations for humanity to stand on the moon again.I look forward to Japan's contribution."