NASA’s Orion is the world’s only exploration-class spacecraft, designed and built to protect astronauts from the dangers of deep space. Orion will support an incremental buildup of the entire Gateway and is a highly capable vehicle with unique features designed to meet deep space environments and keep crew members safe even given dangerous emergency scenarios. Other human spaceflight vehicles aren’t designed for the challenges beyond low-Earth orbit. They also lack the capability to fly long duration missions and are ground dependent. Orion is designed with advanced technology needed for the extremes of deep space, such as long-duration life support, deep space navigation, radiation protection, deep space communications and a robust heat shield capable of Mars-return velocities.

From the orbital platform of the lunar Gateway, we can begin to explore the surface of the Moon with a reusable crewed lunar lander. After a surface mission, it would return to the Gateway, where it can be refueled, serviced, and then kept in orbit until the next surface sortie mission.

With help of the Gateway, astronauts will scan the lunar surface to determine the best landing spot that will be rich with resources and ideal for a potential lunar colony. Scouting allows us to find the optimal landing spot to sustain the first city on the Moon.

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