LUNA Analog Facility
The German Aerospace Center (DLR) and the European Space Agency (ESA) are jointly offering LUNA, a fundamental facility for the preparation of future human and robotic missions to the Moon at the Cologne site. With its unique infrastructure and the seamless integration into the campus, LUNA enables complex simulations for lunar surface activities of astronauts and robotic systems. LUNA thus is an important and relevant part within existing international capabilities.
LUNA establishes an internationally distinct and visible competence centre for Moon activities as German-European contribution to the continued exploration of space.
News
When spacesuit, lunar dust, and control center come together: Successful communication test between LUNA and :envihab
How reliably does communication work under moon-like conditions?
This central question was at the heart of a three-day test campaign at the LUNA analog facility in Cologne. For the first time, a joint ESA and DLR team tested the complete communication chain between the LUNA test site, the local
A sneak peek at Artemis IV in LUNA
NASA has announced the two scientific instruments that astronauts will deploy and operate near the lunar South Pole during the second crewed lunar landing of the Artemis programme, Artemis IV, on December 4th, 2025. One of these instruments is the South Pole Seismic Station (SPSS), which consists of a seismometer
SAIL Campaign: Triple Solar Array Demonstration Lights Up LUNA
The LUNA Analog Facility team conducted a series of mission simulations called SAIL (Solar Array Installation in LUNA), which focused on the installation of a solar array under conditions similar to those found at the lunar south pole. The campaign provided an excellent opportunity to investigate both the technical and
LUNA now also remotely: preparation for the Photobioreactor campaign
From 25-28 November 2025, an extensive pre-test for the photobioreactor campaign took place in the LUNA hall. It was the first activity in LUNA to successfully utilise the new Monitoring and Control System for LUNA (MCS-L). The experimenters worked on site in the FLEXHab space habitat. The campaign team was
Mars rover JANUS takes driving lessons on the Moon
The ATAPP team (All Terrain Autonomous Planetary Prospector) consisting of students from various German universities and colleges, tested the limits of a rover in the LUNA hall. ATAPP is part of the VaMEx initiative which aims to explore the Valles Marineris on Mars.
Mission Moon: CASIMAR campaign tests astronaut tools at the LUNA Analog Facility
In September 2025, the first student-organized mission took place at the LUNA Analog Facility: The CASIMAR team tested innovative astronaut tools under simulated lunar conditions. From September 10 to 12, the team from the German National Association of Student Spaceflight conducted its campaign to evaluate specially developed tools in an