The heart of NASA's future space station as a transit post to take astronauts back to the Moon has been made in Italy. The pressurized module HALO (Habitation And Logistics Outpost) was built in the Thales Alenia Space (Thales - Leonardo) factory in Turin. The module is ready to leave for the United States at the end of March where the company Northrop Grumman will complete the internal setup.

The launch is scheduled for the end of 2027, Walter Cugno, vice president for Exploration and Science of Thales Alenia Space, told ANSA. It is another fundamental step in the Artemis program, promoted by NASA to bring astronauts back to the Moon and to which dozens of countries and space agencies are adhering, including the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency.