There’s a slim chance that us human beings will be populating both the Moon and Mars in the next few decades. Boeing, alongside NASA, is leading that charge.
The company has today revealed concepts of its “deep space gateway and transport systems” that it hopes will help NASA and its astronauts explore our two closest celestial neighbours more intricately. And by more intricately, we mean actually walking their surfaces.
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“Known as the Deep Space Gateway,” Boeing writes in a press release, “the habitat could support critical research and help open opportunities for global government or commercial partnerships in deep space, including lunar missions.
Boeing notes that the Deep Space Gateway will be ‘critical’ for future human space exploration
So the solar-powered “habitat” doesn’t exactly sound comfortable then, but Boeing and NASA’s ultimate ambition isn’t to find a nice spot to picnic in space. The systems will protect occupants from the harsh realities of outer space, and will be able to dock with the likes of the International Space Station if required.
Moreover, the actual transportation vehicle will also boast a “lander for surface missions or conduct other scientific and robotic missions in orbit”.
Although we’re still a few years away from touching down on Mars’ surface, the latest concept images of the Deep Space Gateway system shows just how close we’re getting.
Feature image: Boeing
