Angeline Leishman
An Airbus affiliate has signed a $50 million contract to develop a power system for the crew module Northrop Grumman will build to function as a key component of NASA’s Gateway lunar space station.
Crisa, which operates under Airbus’ defense and space division, will produce the power management and distribution technology for integration into the Habitation and Logistics Outpost, the company said Tuesday.
Northrop secured a $935 million contract from NASA in July 2021 to produce and integrate the HALO module with Maxar Technologies‘ Power and Propulsion Element for the spaceship that will orbit the moon.
Airbus said the PMAD hardware will have four power units designed to help the outpost’s life support system, interior lighting, communications systems and scientific experiments run and charge docked vehicles if the solar arrays of PPE do not receive enough sunlight.
Once complete, HALO is envisioned to serve as a logistics post where astronauts can stay for around 40 days before they head to the surface of the moon and Mars.
