NASA's plans for Moon-Orbiting Space Station

WASHINGTON — NASA has released images of its Lunar Gateway space station ahead of its proposed launch of two modules in 2024.

In a statement released on its website, NASA describes the station as "an outpost orbiting the Moon that provides vital support for a sustainable, long-term human return to the lunar surface."

Gateway will work as a kind of pit stop for astronauts on their way to the Moon. NASA announced in February that after arriving at the station, astronauts will be delivered to the surface of the moon via a lunar lander built by Elon Musk's SpaceX.

Eventually it is hoped that Gateway will operate as a "staging point" for missions to the Moon, NASA states on its website. But it could also operate as a port for spacecraft going beyond the moon, into deep space.

The process will begin in 2024 with the dual launch of the Power and Propulsion Element of the station and the Habitation and Logistics Outpost, which will initially provide living space for astronauts manning lunar missions, NASA says.