Boeing has revealed plans for its Deep Space Gateway and Transport system that could lead to major advances in space exploration and make the promise of colonies in space that little bit closer.

Last year, Boeing and five other companies joined up with NASA in order to develop vehicles for deep space.  Now Boeing has revealed plans for its Deep Space Gateway and Transport system that could lead to major advances in space exploration and make the promise of colonies in space that little bit closer.

NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS), which Boeing is helping develop, aims to put a new station near the moon.  The station, known as the Deep Space Gateway, will then be used as a staging post and launch site for missions further afield with Mars the main target. 

The Deep Space Gateway could be the waypoint for Mars missions. Utilizing a docking system akin to what the International Space Station uses for commercial operations, it could host the Deep Space Transport vehicle, which would take humans to Mars. Once near Mars, crews could deploy a lander for surface missions or conduct other scientific and robotic missions in orbit.

Pete McGrath, Director Global Sales and Marketing for Boeing’s space arm said “The ability to simultaneously launch humans and cargo on SLS would allow us to assemble the gateway in four launches in the early 2020s.”

Early 2020s seems pretty close for the type of deployment we’re talking about here but it is certainly another interesting plan in an exciting era for space travel.