NASA Converts Cancelled Gateway HALO Module Into Three Northrop Grumman Moon Base Demo Missions; CSA Repurposes Canadarm3

NASA and Northrop Grumman announced they are converting hardware from the cancelled Gateway HALO (Habitation and Logistics Outpost) module — a contract that had grown from an original $187 million (2019) to $1.9 billion by the time a stop-work order was issued in April 2026 — into three Lunar Infrastructure Demo missions (LID-1, LID-2, LID-3). The LID missions will mature lunar surface power, thermal, autonomy, communications, and hosted payload technology able to survive the roughly 14-Earth-day lunar night and temperature swings from -334°F to 130°F near the south pole, flying under NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services program during Moon Base Phase One (through 2029). "Our ready-to-fly, reliable HALO technologies allow NASA to move faster, putting in place robust infrastructure that can endure the lunar night," said Northrop Grumman VP David Schiller. SpaceNews reported Aug 8 that the Canadian Space Agency is separately adapting its Gateway-developed Canadarm3 robotic arm for lunar-surface applications and potential use on commercial low Earth orbit stations, calling early robotics deployment on the Moon "a key step in validating Canadian capabilities" for future lunar logistics.