One year of LUNA analog facility: status and utilization

Kurzfassung

In September 2024, the LUNA analogue facility was opened in Cologne, Germany, as a result of joint efforts between the German Aerospace Centre (DLR) and the European Space Agency (ESA). This cutting-edge and worldwide unique lunar facility allows to simulate the different aspects for preparing the next lunar surface exploration missions. The facility is a direct response to the renewed interest in the Moon and is intended to play a central role in the future lunar surface activities. The LUNA hall is intended as testing and training centre that enables realistic simulations of end-to-end mission operational scenarios. In this sense, the ultimate goal of LUNA is to not only to serve DLR and ESA's exploration needs, but it is open for the entire lunar scientic community ranging from student groups to research centres, start-ups, industry and other national space agencies. The completion of the facility is expected by the end of 2026, however some of the elements are already available and have been utilized to run the initial test campaigns. The 700 m2 regolith test bed area have been already lled with almost 800 t of EAC-1A regolith mare simulant and some geological samples have been deployed to recreated different part of the lunar surface. Additionally, a dedicated and enclosed dust laboratory has been filled with 20 t of regolith highland simulant from Greenland, thus allowing LUNA to simulate different lunar regions. Various sun simulators and a gravity offload system are also present to augment the realism during the intended suited-EVA astronaut training scenarios. A mock-up of the ESA Argonaut lander and the future installation of a ramp complete the surface elements present in the testbed. External modules such as FLEXHab, a functional habitat that can host up to 4 crew members for a 7-days mission in isolation, and the forthcoming EDEN LUNA, a greenhouse for technology testing for bio-regenerative life support systems under extreme conditions, complete LUNA. This unique mix is complemented by ground segment infrastructures with video and voice loops connected with the already existing ISS control centres and the evolving Human Exploration Control Centre for the upcoming Gateway and Moon surface missions. The facility also takes advantage of the DLR Cologne campus structures and specialized laboratories for regolith research, thermo-electric generators and human physiology aspects. The present paper describes the current project status of the ESA-DLR LUNA analog facility and the results from the first utilization campaigns