LUNA is taking shape

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.

LUNA’s main hall will contain a 700 m² regolith 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 official ESA-DLR LUNA website.