Deep space gateway concept: Extending human presence into cislunar space

NASA is advancing plans to extend human presence beyond low-Earth orbit. In the next few years, the first launches of the Space Launch System (SLS) and Orion crew vehicle will ferry humans into deep space for the first time in over four decades. During these early Exploration Missions (EMs), astronauts will begin to live and work for extended durations in the deep space environment where they will incrementally build operational experience and test the systems required for long-duration missions in deep space including to the Mars system. The concept for these first missions in Phase 1 — an Exploration Phase characterized by the demonstration of exploration systems — involves deployment of a Deep Space Gateway (DSG) in cislunar space. While a DSG can be constructed in various sequences depending on mission plans, NASA analysis has yielded that an initial deep space outpost could be composed of four functional capabilities: a power propulsion element (PPE), habitat, logistics module(s), and an airlock. Over the course of Phase 1, these could be strategically launched as co-manifested payloads on SLS and deployed, beginning with a PPE on EM-2, building to an integrated DSG in the mid-2020s. The DSG also provides opportunities for domestic and international partners to join in the development, servicing, and utilization of this unique capability. This paper will build off past narratives of NASA's exploration strategy by providing more detail and definition on the DSG concept and early formulation and development activities. Suggested DSG requirements and concepts of operations will be summarized as well as an overview of the potential utilization plan — a document outlining how the exploration system enterprise supports achievement of NASA's Human Exploration Objectives. Additionally, this paper will provide a status of current efforts to solicit concepts to implement each of the DSG functions from domestic partners through the Next Space Technologies for Exploration Partnerships (NextSTEP) activity as well as the International Space Station partners. Progress on a first element, the PPE, will also be discussed.