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
A swarm of sensors, rovers and astronauts explore the ‘Moon’
Golden packages on the Moon? Not exactly. This is no extraterrestrial gift depot, but a cutting-edge project in the LUNA hall. Here, the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) has been researching how payload boxes, sensors, rovers and astronauts can connect to form an integrated network.
In search of hidden treasures
The uppermost meter(s) of the lunar subsurface potentially hold significant resources, like water ice, or lava tubes as possible shelters, that are crucial for a sustainable human presence on the Moon. While these depths are accessible to human and robotic exploration, the first step is knowing where to explore. Geophysical
First campaign in LUNA
The week of 11th of November 2024 marked the start of external user campaigns in LUNA, with two teams and MUSC (DLR’s Microgravity User Support Center) working together on measuring seismic vibrations. One team from ISAE-SUPAERO (Institut Supérieur de l’Aéronautique et de l’Espace) in Toulouse, France, was testing geophones for
LUNA Workshop at IAC
The International Astronautical Congress (IAC) is one of the world’s largest space conferences. Here, contracts are signed, scientific results are introduced to experts and strategic plans of the space agencies are communicated. In the last few years, we have only been able to present ideas, concepts and rendered images of
Training facility for astronautical and robotic missions to the Moon
The Moon now also exists on Earth – for the training of astronauts, the development of technologies and the preparation of long-term missions: The German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) and the European Space Agency ESA have now jointly established the LUNA research facility. The LUNA
Introducing Puppeteer: Because Earth Gravity is Just Too Mainstream
Have you ever been sitting at your desk, slogging through another round of emails, and thought, “This would be so much easier if I only weighed 16.5% of my current weight”? No? Just us? Well, whether you’ve thought about it or not, let us introduce you to the next big
