Habitation and Logistics Outpost (HALO)

Humanity's first home in deep space

Advancing Human Exploration

The Artemis campaign is the most daring, technically challenging, and collaborative endeavor humanity has ever set out to do. Northrop Grumman is building on our unique legacy, forged during the dawn of human space age, to deliver a safe and reliable orbiting home for Artemis astronauts taking on this mission.

Pioneering for Deep Space

The Habitation and Logistics Outpost (HALO) is the first module of the lunar Gateway where Artemis astronauts will live, conduct science, and prepare for lunar surface missions. HALO will be launched with Gateway’s Power and Propulsion Element (PPE). Gateway will be humanity’s first space station beyond low-Earth Orbit, orbiting the Moon. As a test bed for journeys to Mars, science investigations aboard Gateway will help us better understand the long-term effects of deep space radiation on hardware and the human body as NASA and its partners test and operate systems in deep space.

Learn more about Artemis

Living around the Moon

The HALO design leverages extensive human factors testing to provide efficient usage of space, logical crew interfaces, organized cargo stowage, and readily accessible and maintainable equipment.

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Facts At-A-Glance

Will support up to four crew with the Orion spacecraft attached for up to 30 days at a time
Will be integrated with the Power and Propulsion Element and launched together on a Falcon Heavy
Will serve as both a crew habitat and docking station for future modules of Gateway and visiting crew spacecraft, as well as vehicles navigating between Earth and the Moon
Will be a test bed for future journeys to Mars, with ongoing investigations to better understand the long-term effects of deep space radiation on vehicle systems and the human body
HALO will function as the backbone for command and control and power distribution across Gateway.
Mounted on HALO's exterior will be Lunar Link, a telecommunications system provided by ESA, enabling communication between crewed and robotic systems on the lunar surface and mission control on Earth.

HALO Factsheet

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HALO Fly-Through Video

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Workers in white lab coats pushing HALO in NGC facility

Technology Evolution

We are building on our heritage with new innovations to make history. HALO’s technology stems from demonstrated success with our Cygnus spacecraft, which has delivered supplies to the International Space Station on over 20 missions. Cygnus meets NASA’s rigorous standards for human-rated spacecraft. Our experienced team is working diligently, making significant progress on HALO to be ready to support the Artemis mission.

Learn More About Cygnus