Carlos Garcia-Galan, 50, brings 27 years of human spaceflight experience to the job, the agency said Thursday. A native of Malaga, Spain, he has overseen work on the International Space Station and worked as a flight controller at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston.

"I am tremendously excited to take on this new role and help lead development of humanity's first outpost in deep space," Garcia-Galan said. "I'm honored to join a top-class Gateway team around the world, as the first elements of the complex move toward completion."

NASA calls Gateway "humanity's first space station to orbit the moon."

Garcia-Galan has said he was inspired by NASA's work as a boy in Spain, and set his sights on the moon, Mars and deep space exploration.

"It's something that called to me from the very beginning. I remember listening to the space shuttle countdowns and watching the launches on television," he said.

Garcia-Galan has been manager of the Orion Program's European Service Module Integration Office, where he oversees the management of integrated spacecraft design and performance, mission analysis, cross-program integration, and launch and flight operations support, according to NASA.

"Carlos is an outstanding manager and engineer, and I am extremely pleased to announce his selection for this position," said Vanessa Wyche, director of the Johnson Space Center. "His wealth of experience in human spaceflight, international partnerships, and the development and operations of deep-space spacecraft will be a huge asset to Gateway."

NASA says its Orion spacecraft is designed to take humans deeper into space than they have ever been. The Artemis-III mission is scheduled to launch in 2027.