European System Providing Refueling, Infrastructure and Telecommunications

The European System Providing Refueling, Infrastructure and Telecommunications (ESPRIT) is a planned module of the Lunar Gateway. It will provide refueling through additional xenon and hydrazine capacity for use in the Power and Propulsion Element's ion engines. It will also provides additional communications equipment, a habitation area, and an airlock for science packages to the Lunar Gateway. It will have a mass of approximately , and a length of . ESA has awarded two parallel design studies one mostly led by Airbus in partnership with Comex and OHB and one led by Thales Alenia Space. The construction of the module was approved in November 2019. On 14 October 2020, Thales Alenia Space announced that they had been selected by ESA to build the ESPRIT module.
Configuration.
The ESPRIT module will consist of two parts, the Halo Lunar Communication System (HLCS) and the ESPRIT Refueling Module (ERM).
Halo Lunar Communication System (HLCS).
The Halo Lunar Communication System (HLCS) will provide the communications for the station. It will launch in 2024 pre-attached to the HALO module, for which Thales has separately been awarded a contract by NASA to construct its hull and micrometeoroid protection.
ESPRIT Refueling Module (ERM).
The ESPRIT Refueling Module (ERM), will contain the pressurized fuel tanks, docking ports and a small windowed habitation corridor. It is projected to launch sometime in 2027.