NASA's Gateway space outpost will field two scientific investigations to study space weather and the sun's radiation.
The agency said Thursday it has built a space weather instrument platform that will work to gather data from solar particles and solar wind to potentially augment space weather forecast capabilities.
The radiation instrument tool is developed by the European Space Agency to help astronauts trace radiation exposure around the Gateway's orbit.
Gateway is slated to orbit near the moon and house astronauts on a regular basis as part of the agency's lunar exploration efforts. NASA noted it will deploy additional payloads from the outpost in the future.
“Using the Gateway as a platform for robotic and human exploration around the Moon will help inform what we do on the lunar surface as well as prepare us for our next giant leap – human exploration of Mars,” said Jim Bridenstine, NASA administrator.
NASA is currently in talks with ESA, the Canadian Space Agency and the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency to seek their support in Gateway's construction.
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