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Backdropped against the blue and white Earth 130 nautical miles below, astronaut Mark Lee tests the new Simplified Aid for EVA Rescue (SAFER) system aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery (STS-64) in this NASA handout photo dated September 16, 1994. REUTERS/NASA/Handout Image used for illustrative purpose.
Thales Alenia Space (TAS) has clinched an order from the UAE's Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre to develop an airlock module for the Lunar Gateway space station, the joint venture between France's Thales and Italy's Leonardo said.
"The Airlock will allow astronauts to perform spacewalks, transfer research to and from the lunar station, and serve as an additional docking port for spacecraft vehicles," TAS said in a press release on Tuesday.
The order, for an undisclosed amount, is the latest in a series of contracts awarded to TAS in recent weeks, including two from the European Space Agency for the design of the Venus-bound Envision spacecraft and the Argonaut lunar lander.
The Lunar Gateway is to become the first international space station around the moon as part of the Artemis programme. It is a multinational project involving NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA), the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), and the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC). ($1 = 0.9633 euros) (Reporting by Alban Kacher; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
