Well, this is embarrassing: The Lunar Gateway's primary modules are corroded

“I appreciate the contributions and look forward to working with them on how we could potentially repurpose hardware to surface applications,” Isaacman replied. But he did not stop there. He then publicly confirmed rumors (reported last month by Ars) that there is corrosion in both the HALO and I-HAB modules of the Gateway. “The only two habitable volumes that were delivered—both were corroded,” Isaacman said. “And that’s unfortunate because it would have delayed, probably beyond 2030, the application of Gateway.” How could both a module being provided by Northrop Grumman, a major US defense contractor, and I-HAB from Europe be corroded? It seems like a fantastic claim. However, half a dozen sources who worked on or near the Lunar Gateway program confirmed to Ars that the corrosion Isaacman mentioned was real and serious. “Through these contracts, Thales Alenia Space will call on the full sum of our expertise to expand our knowledge base and push back the frontiers of the cislunar exploration,” Massimo Claudio Comparini, a senior official, said in 2020 when the contracts were announced. Ars reached out to Thales on Wednesday evening for a comment about the corrosion issues. We received no reply until Friday morning, when a spokesperson said, “We are working on statement. We will come back to you early next week.” Northrop Grumman provided a comment within several hours of a request on Wednesday. The European Space Agency, which was overseeing European contributions to the Gateway, finally offered a comment on Friday. The agency attributed the issue to a “combination of factors,” including materials. “Following the identification of corrosion on HALO, a comprehensive investigation was promptly initiated,” a European Space Agency spokesperson said. “Preliminary findings indicate that the issue likely results from a combination of factors, including aspects of the forging process, surface treatment, and material properties.” After the issue was discovered, the European Space Agency established a “tiger team” to investigate. “Based on the investigation and available data, the corrosion issue was understood to be technically manageable and did not constitute a showstopper for I‑HAB, which was, in any case, in better conditions than HALO from [a] corrosion point of view,” the spokesperson said. The I-HAB module remains under construction and has not yet been delivered to NASA. Its fate remains unclear as European space officials contemplate their participation in the Moon base initiative.