The Moon is in sight at ESA’s European Astronaut Centre (EAC) in Cologne, Germany, where a facility designed to recreate the lunar surface will soon be built. Known as ESA-DLR LUNA, the collaborative project between the European Space Agency ESA and the German Aerospace Centre DLR will provide a training ground for astronauts and a test centre for technology, equipping partners and users with the knowledge to go forward to the Moon.
ESA project manager Juergen Schlutz says the initial idea for the facility arose in 2015. Since then, there have been several iterations of the facility design and capabilities – including relocation of the building site due to local lizards – but planning for construction is now in its final stage.
“The ground-breaking is planned for the second quarter of 2022, and we are aiming for LUNA to be ready for initial operations before the end of 2022,” he says.
ESA-DLR LUNA regolith test bed area
ESA-DLR LUNA regolith test bed area operations
ESA-DLR LUNA mission operations room
ESA-DLR LUNA visitor's room
ESA-DLR LUNA meeting room
Future Lunar Exploration Habitat (FLEXHab), the adjacent habitation module of the LUNA analogue facility
LUNA’s main hall will contain a 700 m2regolith testbed, made from a lunar dust simulant called EAC-1, and outfitted with controllable illumination to allow surface conditions and experiments to be replicated reliably. LUNA will allow for the simulation of lighting conditions across a lunar day-night cycle as well as for different lunar surface locations, initially focussing on polar areas’ characteristics. Further preparatory rooms, lab space and supporting infrastructure will bring the full facility area to about 1000 m2.
An adjacent habitation module, known as Future Lunar Exploration Habitat (FLEXHab), will represent what could be a lunar base module where astronauts will live and work. Both FLEXHab and the main hall will be powered by solar energy systems, that will be combined with innovative fuel cell technologies for the operation of FLEXHab.
LUNA provides a valuable testbed and research location for a diverse range of activities:
astronaut training and exploration simulation, in particular for the collaboration of teams on the lunar surface and ground based teams;
robotic system simulation, validation and operations;
human-machine interactions, including scientific activities, infrastructure build-up and maintenance as well as operational processes and emergency procedures;
virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) applications;
research and development for materials, tools and manufacturing, including the handling of lunar dust and the use of locally sourced lunar products known as In-Situ Resource Utilisation (ISRU); and
regenerative energy systems.
The European ambition is to train all future Moon-bound astronauts at LUNA in Cologne, providing full simulation of a lunar mission on the ground in a relevant environment with the real tools and operations support. LUNA will also benefit from proximity to the facilities and expertise of ESA’s European Astronaut Centre and the DLR research institutes, such as the Institute of Space Operations and Astronaut Training with its experience in operating satellites and modules in space and the Institute of Aerospace Medicine, including its :envihab facility, making it an attractive site for preparing humans to explore farther into space.
“The European Astronaut Centre together with its integrated team comprising DLR, CNES and ASI personnel currently offers astronaut training for the International Space Station, as well as analogue training in the field and underwater. LUNA will close a gap between the Space Station and existing analogue training to prepare for unique lunar challenges such as transport capabilities, surface mobility, communication setups and autonomy, and the harsh dust environment on the Moon,” explains Juergen.
ESA is a partner in NASA’s Artemis programme, and its LUNA facility will also be of great interest to many commercial and international partners as they prepare for crewed lunar missions. As a result, it is designed to be an open hub for researchers and developers from all over the world.
“At ESA, we can already draw on a lot of experience from astronaut training as well as human and robotic space exploration and, with the help of LUNA and our partner DLR, we aim to transfer this and put Europe on the map of preparations for the Moon and eventually Mars,” adds Juergen.
Discover the most recent updates and information on our officialESA-DLR LUNA website.
The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It goes around the Earth at a distance of about 239,000 miles (385,000 kilometers). The Earth and Moon are tidally locked. Their rotations are so in sync we only see one side of the Moon.
So, as the Moon orbits the Earth, the Sun lights up different parts of it, making it seem as if the Moon is changing shape. In actual fact, it's just our view of it that's altering… Zoom in for a closer look!
A supermoon is defined as a full moon that coincides (or very nearly so) with lunar perigee — when the moon arrives at that point in its orbit closest to the Earth.
The Moon may appear to change shape, but the bright surface you see and the 'moonlight' that reaches Earth is sunlight reflecting off the lunar surface. As the Moon orbits our planet, its varying position means the Sun lights up different regions, creating the illusion that the Moon is changing shape over time.
Moon is the only natural satellite of the Earth. It is a natural object seen in the night sky with stars. It looks beautiful, and people watch it in the sky. The Moon is responsible for the tides in the sea and causes high and low tides.
Earth's only natural satellite is simply called "the Moon" because people didn't know other moons existed until Galileo Galilei discovered four moons orbiting Jupiter in 1610. In Latin, the Moon was called Luna, which is the main adjective for all things Moon-related: lunar.
The Moon is shaped like an imperfect sphere. From a distance, it looks nearly round. Seen up close, the Moon's surface is a three-dimensional landscape of mountains, valleys, and craters.
As the Moon moves around Earth in its orbit, the light reflecting off the side of the Moon creates a sliver of shape. This is a crescent moon. Because it's getting bigger, we can also call it the waxing crescent moon. As the moon keeps moving, we see more of that light.
The most rare would be full moons that fall into multiple categories. For example, a “super blood moon” would be when a full moon at or near the part of its orbit where its closest to Earth is fully eclipsed.
Secret Moon is Seiji Kanai's take on a Werewolf-like team deduction game, and a sequel to Love Letter. Contrary to other games of the same genre, in Secret Moon players are not talking and debating. The deduction is based upon a limited set of actions available to each player.
There are four supermoons in 2024, the next one occurring on 19 August. Thereafter, 2024's supermoons occur on 18 September, 17 October and 15 November.
During a lunar eclipse, Earth comes between the Sun and the Moon, blocking the sunlight falling on the Moon. There are two kinds of lunar eclipses: A total lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon and Sun are on opposite sides of Earth. A partial lunar eclipse happens when only part of Earth's shadow covers the Moon.
The Moon is a large natural object that orbits, or travels around, Earth. After the Sun it is the brightest object in the sky. The average distance between the Moon and Earth is about 238,900 miles (384,400 kilometers). Compared to the distance between other planets and Earth, this distance is small.
Introduction: My name is Lidia Grady, I am a thankful, fine, glamorous, lucky, lively, pleasant, shiny person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
We notice you're using an ad blocker
Without advertising income, we can't keep making this site awesome for you.
