For instance, NASA will be using the Space Launch System (SLS) and Orion spacecraft to send astronauts back to the Moon starting in 2024. The core of the Gateway - the Power and Propulsion Element (PPE) and the Habitation and Logistics Outpost (HALO) - will also be launched by 2024 using a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket.
Paired with a reusable lunar lander, this orbital habitat will allow for long-duration missions to the lunar surface. Between 2024 and 2028, NASA also intends to add the International Habitation Module (I-HAB), the European System Providing Refueling, Infrastructure and Telecommunications (ESPRIT), and possibly more modules to the Gateway.
| UPDATED: 20:06, Fri, Feb 12, 2021
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Elon Musk wants to put humans on Mars before the decade is out and Starship is going to be his ticket to the Red Planet. The SpaceX chief has been working on the interplanetary vehicle for close to 10 years now after first unveiling his plans for a Mars Colonial Transporter (MCT) in 2012. Starship has gone through multiple names and design changes since and has even at one point resembled a spacecraft straight out of the Flash Gordon comic strip.