Ukrainian An-124 Delivers Part of Future Lunar Station Gateway

On April 1, the world’s largest serially produced transport aircraft, the An-124-100M “Ruslan,” delivered the HALO habitation module — a key component of the first-ever space station to operate in lunar orbit — from Turin, Italy, to Arizona.

HALO (Habitation and Logistics Outpost) is a pressurized module that will become one of the two main components of Gateway, the lunar station being developed under NASA’s Artemis program.

In Arizona, the module will undergo final testing at Northrop Grumman’s facility in the city of Gilbert. There, it will be integrated with the station’s second module — the Power and Propulsion Element. Together, the two components will head to the Moon aboard SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket.