NASA has revealed the logo for the agency’s lunar Gateway space station. The station is a key element of NASA’s Artemis program, the agency’s effort to return humans to the moon by 2024.
The logo was shared as part of an online newsletter to employees of NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston on Tuesday, September 17. “It is a bold look closely aligned with the Artemis brand. The logo symbolizes NASA’s efforts to go forward to the Moon and on to Mars,” wrote Deepthi Cauligi, a NASA communications strategist.
According to Cauligi, the grey crescent represents the moon, the white arch Gateway’s near rectilinear halo orbit, and the red pathway, the station’s role in NASA’s push to Mars which is represented by a red sphere. Other symbolism embedded in the logo includes the six stars which represent each of the six Apollo Moon landings and the red “A” in Gateway representing the station’s importance to the Artemis program.
Initial reactions to the Gateway logo have been mixed with one Twitter user referring to it as “very amateurish”. Others have reserved judgment while very few have come out fully in support of the new logo.
In addition to the logo, the September 17 release also included a link to “explore the new Gateway website!” However, as of writing this, the site appears to be down.
The first element of the lunar Gateway station, the Power and Propulsion Element (PPE) is expected to be launched in late 2022. The PPE is based on Maxar technologies 1300-series commercial satellite bus and will provide power and electrical propulsion for the station. The next module to be launched, the Habitation and Logistics Outpost (HALO) is expected to follow in 2023. Construction of the HALO module has not yet begun with NASA currently examing proposals from manufacturers.
