ARTEMIS BASE CAMP
The main role of the Gateway space station is to support human activity on the surface of the Moon. This will include setting up a permanent outpost there, provisionally called Artemis Base Camp. This will be located near the south pole of the Moon – an ideal spot given its likely access to water ice and other useful resources. NASA envisions one crewed visit to the base per year, with the facilities becoming increasingly sophisticated and comfortable over time. The first visits are likely to be relatively brief, but later ones could be as long as two months in duration.
Capable of supporting four astronauts at a time, Artemis Base Camp will eventually have a complete infrastructure for power, communications and waste processing, together with all-important radiation shielding and a dedicated landing pad. It will also have research facilities aimed at testing new technologies for living and working on the Moon, and at least two vehicles to allow the astronauts to explore the lunar surface.