United Arab Emirates Will Build Airlock Module for NASA Gateway

Gateaway Airlock Concept (photo: Doc. NASA)

JAKARTA – The United States Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is collaborating with the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center (MBRSC), the United Arab Emirates (UAE) space agency, to provide a Gateway Airlock.

Gateway Airlock is a module for activities on Gateaway, the first space station for astronauts that will orbit the moon. This station is supporting infrastructure for lunar exploration missions through the Artemis program.

In this collaboration, MBRSC will create Crew and Science Airlock modules for Gateway. In addition, astronauts from the UAE will also be part of the flight mission to Gateway under the control of the Artemis program.

Vice President of the United States and Chair of the National Space Council, Kamala Harris, welcomed this partnership. According to him, international cooperation is a priority in the space sector to advance space exploration projects.

"By combining our resources, scientific capacit,y and technical skills, the US and UAE will advance our collective vision of space and ensure it provides extraordinary opportunities for everyone on earth," Harris said in an official statement.

Meanwhile, NASA Administrator, Bill Nelson, said that this collaboration was a very important milestone for his agency. Apart from bringing a good future for space exploration, this partnership can strengthen international relations.

“The UAE's provision of an airlock to the Gateway will enable astronauts to conduct innovative science in space and prepare to one day send humanity to Mars,” explained Nelson.

The airlock provided by MBRSC will assist with crew transition and transfer of science research from the Gateway crew module to the vacuum of space. With this transfer process, scientific exploration in outer space will become wider and the Gateway will be better maintained.