The Gateway space station will operate in a near-rectilinear halo orbit (NRHO) around the Moon, providing substantial capabilities and opportunities for Artemis missions.

CAPSTONE, a microwave oven-sized CubeSat, will fly in cislunar space – the orbital space near and around the Moon. The mission will demonstrate an innovative spacecraft-to-spacecraft navigation solution at the Moon from a near rectilinear halo orbit slated for Artemis’ Gateway. Illustration by Daniel Rutter.

CAPSTONE, a microwave oven-sized CubeSat, will fly in cislunar space – the orbital space near and around the Moon. The mission will demonstrate an innovative spacecraft-to-spacecraft navigation solution at the Moon from a near rectilinear halo orbit slated for Artemis’ Gateway. Illustration by Daniel Rutter.

CAPSTONE, a microwave oven-sized CubeSat, will fly in cislunar space – the orbital space near and around the Moon. The mission will demonstrate an innovative spacecraft-to-spacecraft navigation solution at the Moon from a near rectilinear halo orbit slated for Artemis’ Gateway. Illustration by Daniel Rutter.

CAPSTONE, a microwave oven-sized CubeSat, will fly in cislunar space – the orbital space near and around the Moon. The mission will demonstrate an innovative spacecraft-to-spacecraft navigation solution at the Moon from a near rectilinear halo orbit slated for Artemis’ Gateway. Illustration by Daniel Rutter.

CAPSTONE, a microwave oven-sized CubeSat, will fly in cislunar space – the orbital space near and around the Moon. The mission will demonstrate an innovative spacecraft-to-spacecraft navigation solution at the Moon from a near rectilinear halo orbit slated for Artemis’ Gateway. Illustration by Daniel Rutter.

Virtual background of CAPSTONE spacecraft optimized for phone use (9:16). The CAPSTONE mission will demonstrate an innovative spacecraft-to-spacecraft navigation solution at the Moon from a near rectilinear halo orbit slated for Artemis’ Gateway. Illustration by Daniel Rutter.

Virtual background of CAPSTONE spacecraft optimized for phone use (9:16). The CAPSTONE mission will demonstrate an innovative spacecraft-to-spacecraft navigation solution at the Moon from a near rectilinear halo orbit slated for Artemis’ Gateway. Illustration by Daniel Rutter.

Virtual background of CAPSTONE spacecraft optimized for desktop use (16:9). The CAPSTONE mission will demonstrate an innovative spacecraft-to-spacecraft navigation solution at the Moon from a near rectilinear halo orbit slated for Artemis’ Gateway. Illustration by Daniel Rutter.

Virtual background of CAPSTONE spacecraft optimized for desktop use (16:9). The CAPSTONE mission will demonstrate an innovative spacecraft-to-spacecraft navigation solution at the Moon from a near rectilinear halo orbit slated for Artemis’ Gateway. Illustration by Daniel Rutter.

Virtual background of CAPSTONE spacecraft optimized for phone use (9:16). The CAPSTONE mission will demonstrate an innovative spacecraft-to-spacecraft navigation solution at the Moon from a near rectilinear halo orbit slated for Artemis’ Gateway. Illustration by Daniel Rutter.

Virtual background of CAPSTONE spacecraft optimized for phone use (9:16). The CAPSTONE mission will demonstrate an innovative spacecraft-to-spacecraft navigation solution at the Moon from a near rectilinear halo orbit slated for Artemis’ Gateway. Illustration by Daniel Rutter.

Virtual background of CAPSTONE spacecraft optimized for desktop use (16:9). The CAPSTONE mission will demonstrate an innovative spacecraft-to-spacecraft navigation solution at the Moon from a near rectilinear halo orbit slated for Artemis’ Gateway. Illustration by Daniel Rutter.

Virtual background of CAPSTONE spacecraft optimized for phone use (9:16). The CAPSTONE mission will demonstrate an innovative spacecraft-to-spacecraft navigation solution at the Moon from a near rectilinear halo orbit slated for Artemis’ Gateway. Illustration by Daniel Rutter.

This illustration shows NASA's Lunar Flashlight carrying out a trajectory correction maneuver with the Moon and Earth in the background. Powered by the small satellite's four thrusters, the maneuver is needed to reach lunar orbit. Lunar Flashlight launched Nov. 30, 2022, and will take about four months to reach its science orbit to seek out surface water ice in the darkest craters of the Moon's South Pole. A technology demonstration, the small satellite, or SmallSat, will use a reflectometer equipped with four lasers that emit near-infrared light in wavelengths readily absorbed by surface water ice. To achieve the mission's goals with the satellite's limited amount of propellent, Lunar Flashlight will employ an energy-efficient near-rectilinear halo orbit, taking it within 9 miles (15 kilometers) of the lunar South Pole and 43,000 miles (70,000 kilometers) away at its farthest point. Only one other spacecraft has employed this type of orbit: NASA's Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment (CAPSTONE) mission, which launched in June 2022. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA25258

The Lunar Gateway Launch, mapped. Gateway's first elements, the Power and Propulsion Element and HALO (Habitation and Logistics Outpost), will launch together to lunar orbit, where they’ll set the stage for Artemis IV: the first Gateway assembly mission. During this milestone mission, the Artemis IV crew will deliver the European Space Agency's Lunar I-Hab, dock it to HALO, and enter the space station for the very first time. NASA is currently targeting a 2027 launch for HALO and the Power and Propulsion Element. This timeline allows for the roughly year-long journey to lunar orbit and ensures everything is in place ahead of Artemis IV.