Planetary and Space Simulation Facilities

Abstract

Planetary and space simulation facilities are laboratory devices aimed at mimicking extraterrestrial conditions, for example, the conditions of outer space (vacuum, temperature, radiation), of spaceflight or those of other planets (atmospheric composition and pressure, temperature fluctuations, radiation for ▶Mars) or moons (gas mixture, pressure, low temperature for Saturn’s moon Titan). They are valuable instruments in the preparation of flight experiments (selection of suitable biological candidates, chemical compounds, and hardware material for astro- and space biological experiments in Earth orbit), for assessing the habitability of other planets (e.g., of Mars), or for studying different physical or chemical processes (e.g., for Titan).