What Comes After Artemis: The Road to a Lunar Gateway
TL;DR The Lunar Gateway is infrastructure, not a destination: a way station in lunar orbit that separates the hard problem (Earth to lunar orbit) from the repeated one (orbit to surface) Without it, each Artemis landing needs at least two SLS launches plus a Starship - roughly four Moon landings per decade; with it, landings can become routine Assembly is modular: the Power and Propulsion Element arrives around 2028-2029, followed by the HALO habitation module, with operations expanding through the 2030s The Gateway is to the Moon what the ISS is to Earth orbit, and it doubles as a staging point for the lunar far side and eventually deeper space The honest risks are funding uncertainty, lander development, and international coordination - the technology is the more solved part The Gateway Concept When most people think of returning to the Moon, they imagine Artemis astronauts landing, collecting samples, and returning home - just like Apollo. That’s the goal for Artemis III and IV. ...