The Gateway will support the most distant human space missions ever attempted. Whereas the International Space Station orbits Earth, the Gateway will orbit the Moon, acting as a base for scientific research of the deep space environment, a host for technology development and demonstration experiments, as well as a staging post supporting exploration missions to the lunar surface and beyond.

ESA is contributing three key elements to the Gateway; these were previously known as I-Hab, ESPRIT Refuelling Module (ERM) and ESPRIT HALO-Lunar Communication System (HLCS). Now they have been renamed: Lunar I-Hab, Lunar View and Lunar Link.