Astronauts to Train on Simulated Moon
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A simulation and training facility that will replicate the surface of the moon is being built at the European Space Agency’s European Astronaut Centre (EAC) in Cologne, Germany. A joint project of ESA and the German Aerospace Centre (DLR), LUNA (for Lunar Analogue) will serve both as a training ground for astronauts and as a technology test centre.
According to ESA Project Manager Jürgen Schlutz, ground-breaking is planned for the second quarter of 2022 with the aim of having LUNA operational by the end of the year.
ESA is a partner in the NASA-led Artemis programme plans for a permanent space station in the orbit of the Moon by 2024, as well as an exploration base camp on the lunar South Pole.
The European Astronaut Centre integrated team, comprised of personnel from DLR, the French Space Agency CNES, and the Italian Space Agency ASI, currently offers astronaut training for the International Space Station as well as outdoor and underwater analogue training.
LUNA will fill a gap between the space station and existing analogue training to prepare for the unique challenges on the Moon, such as transportation capabilities, surface mobility, communication facilities and autonomy, as well as the harsh, dusty environment on the Moon. The goal of European spaceflight is to train all future astronauts who are to land on the moon at the LUNA facility.
The main hall of LUNA will contain a 700 m2 ‘regolith’ test field filled with a lunar dust simulant called EAC-1, a mineral powder from a nearby volcanic region. The field is covered with replicas of lunar craters and rocks.
Part of the equipment is a suspension system that cushions the astronauts to one-sixth of their earthly weight and thus allows them to experience the lower gravity of the moon.
LUNA will allow simulation of lighting conditions in a lunar day-night cycle and for different locations on the lunar surface, with an initial focus on polar region properties.
An adjacent habitation module, the Future Lunar Exploration Habitat (FLEXHab), will be a potential lunar base module where astronauts would live and work.
