This is a major step taken by European scientists to understand the challenges of living and working on the moon: they are building a replica of its surface at the LUNA Analog Facility. The facility, near Cologne in Germany, is a creation of the ESA in collaboration with the German Aerospace Centre. It has 900 tons of crushed volcanic rock spread over 700 square meters, simulating the landscape. The LUNA facility had to be a practical space where astronauts could go through the moon-like conditions of low gravity, dusty surroundings, and a rocky surface amidst the advanced technological setting of ceiling-mounted trolleys.
ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst introduced the project, specifying in concrete form how LUNA will help the preparation for the missions on the Moon. He said that this chamber mimics some of the very important features of the moon, such as surface conditions, lighting, and even restricted mobility in spacesuits. In other words, working in this environment would have the astronauts much better equipped when real challenges of mobility and operation on the moon arise, and ESA could further its plans with the upcoming lunar expeditions.
Training at LUNA
The LUNA facility is an important training area for ESA and NASA astronauts, as well as those from other agencies that come to train in the art of living and working in conditions as similar as possible to those one finds on the moon. Juergen Schlutz, LUNA Facility Engineer and Moon Strategy Lead, mentioned that there are 900 tons of regolith to simulate the surface of the moon. On this artificial regolith, astronauts will be able to attempt methods of crater exploration, sample collection, and mobility in a moon-like environment.
This underlines the importance of LUNA because ESA involvement in NASA’s Artemis program has taken center stage. Under the Artemis mission, ESA managed to secure three spots for European astronauts up to 2030 in an important cooperation between space agencies. ESA still depends on NASA and other international partners to send its astronauts into space, but the LUNA facility increases Europe’s skills in training its astronauts for future moon landings.
