From Gateway to HALO

Define

Gateway will orbit the Moon and serve as a stepping stone for future lunar exploration. Unlike the International Space Station (ISS) whose size is close to a football field, Gateway will be much smaller, or about the size of two small school buses. Astronauts will have limited space while stationed at the HALO. They will need to perform experiments, command Gateway, eat, rest, exercise, etc. while in an area no larger than one small bus. Their living quarters need to be designed while keeping efficiency and flow in mind. The HALO will have docking stations to receive visiting vehicles and the ability for future modules to be added to Gateway, as needed, and will be powered by exterior solar panels.

Your challenge is to build a scale model of Gateway. You may want to consider using a two-litre pop bottle or two, or an equivalent cylindrical shape or make your own cylinder using other materials. Your Gateway must contain at least four of its various components, including the HALO with a few designated areas inside the HALO for the astronauts, solar panels, the Power and Propulsion Element, and Canadarm3. You can take things further by adding more of the modules and components such as the I-Hab, D-Hab, Orion spacecraft, etc.

Learn about Canada's role in Gateway!

Identify

Design and build a scale model of Gateway.

Your scale model must include at least four components of Gateway:

• HALO with four sections inside designated for astronaut tasks and purpose
• Power and Propulsion Element
• Two solar panels
• Canadarm3

Suggested materials

•  Two-litre pop bottles (or other materials to create cylindrical shapes)
•  Cardboard
•  Fasteners (binder clips, brads, pipe cleaners, string, tape, glue)
•  Scissors or cardboard cutters
•  Ruler or measuring tape
•  Adhesives like tape, glue, or homemade glue
•  Hot glue gun (optional)
•  Paper or graph paper
•  Any repurposed materials you have on hand (egg cartons, straws, Popsicle sticks, skewers, rocks, twigs, branches, etc.)
•  Variety of paints, coloured paper, tinfoil, or any other available embellishments

Brainstorm

What is different between living on Earth and living in space? Depending on the mission objective, what do you need to have in your HALO in order to fulfill your job requirements and still maintain a work/life balance during your time in space? What do you need to live and work comfortably? What are some limitations and challenges that you will need to overcome? Given a limited area, how can you optimize the area you have to provide multi-functioning space? How will the lack of gravity in outer space have an effect on your design?

Overall dimensions of your Gateway replica:

Select

What is your most promising solution that will fit all of these essentials into your plan? What materials do you have available which could affect the implementation of your design?

Prototype

1. Sketch out your main design idea, to scale, on paper or graph paper.
2. Gather a variety of recyclables to use as construction materials. Please take a look at the suggested cardboard connections to help bring your ideas to life and learn some new cardboard prototyping skills.
3. Based on the prioritized ratio that you have identified in the chart, build the main structure of your HALO module and create areas for each of your compartments. Use cardboard attachments like slots, tabs, flanges and brackets to connect compartments and the other modules.
4. Add details to each compartment that will identify its purpose: bed, toilet, charging station, laboratory equipment, etc.
5. Label those detailed parts of your model for easy identification.

Test

How is your design conducive to a good work/life balance for the astronaut(s)? What can you do to ensure that two astronauts can move around the HALO safely? How will you ensure there are areas for expansion for future modules to be added to Gateway?

Iterate

Sometimes things don't always go as planned, especially in outer space. Choose one of the situations below and make the necessary modifications to your Gateway or HALO module design to meet that challenge.

• A serious medical emergency
• Extra cargo
• Power failure
• New module to be docked
• Isolate a compartment due to a safety breach

Communicate

• Share your design. What are the most important parts of your HALO and your model Gateway? What were your biggest challenges? What are some areas for improvement?
• Share your project with the CSA. Ask an adult to share a picture on social media and tag the CSA accounts. You never know, a real astronaut or engineer might see your creation!

Taking it further

• Can you research your components or modules and better understand their purpose?
• Can you add more modules to your design to complete the entire Gateway?
• Can you find information about what the astronauts will be doing in the HALO?
• Enhance your design by incorporating your favourite micro-controller, like the micro:bit or CPX to add lights, sound, sensors, or motors to your Gateway.
• Light up your HALO by adding LEDs with a simple circuit, or paper circuit, and a battery.
• Use Lego to build a new module to be added to your HALO.
• Write a poem, song, story, comic, or play about your life aboard the HALO.
• Create a green screen video of life aboard the HALO and Gateway.
• 3D design and/or 3D print parts for your HALO or Gateway.
• Can you create an interactive HALO or Gateway using Scratch?
• Can you design a functional locking mechanism for new modules to safely attach to Gateway?

Curriculum links

• Measurement:
  • Number sense
  • Standard measurement (cm)
  • Ratios, percentages, and decimals
  • Square area and volume
• Sketching, labeling, and mapping
• Creativity, critical thinking and problem solving, communication and collaboration
• Design thinking

Explore further

• Toolkit for educators and youth - Artemis and the Moon
• To the Moon, Canada!
• Why the Moon?