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
Moon tools to the test at LUNA
An operator, equipped with a spacesuit, tablet and a geological instrument for rock identification, carried out a simulated moon walk in the LUNA facility. Under realistic lighting, this was the first experiment to test the ergonomics of the scientific instruments for analyzing the mineralogical and chemical composition of the regolith
Successful PGT test campaign
From March 6th to 7th, 2025, the German Space Operations Center (GSOC), the European Astronaut Center (EAC) and the Microgravity User Support Center (MUSC) conducted a successful test campaign with the Pistol Grip Tool (PGT), providing valuable insights for future lunar missions.
LUNA on the Space Day 2025
Among other interesting developments in space research and technology, LUNA was also an important part of the Space Day 2025 on 28 March 2025 in Cologne: The Analogue Facility was presented on several talks on the main stage and in the lecture rooms, and impressive images from the first campaigns
A rover on its way to the Moon
The Resilience lander, operated by the Japanese company ispace, carries a small Luxembourg-built rover called Tenacious – and although this rover is already en route to the Moon, it recently visited our LUNA Analog Facility in Cologne.
Portable power supply on the Moon: Introducing the LUNA RTG mock-up
With the NASA Project Artemis well on its way to implement the first human colony on the lunar surface, Lunar exploration and colonisation are no longer a distant dream. At the unique LUNA training facility recently inaugurated at the DLR site in Cologne, astronauts, companies and space-oriented research entities have
Recording earthquakes on the Moon, Mars – and now in LUNA
On 6 February, we installed a broadband seismometer in LUNA and started operations. The seismometer is located on the floor of the hall under the regolith layer and will provide continuous data on the level of seismic background noise in the hall as well as on typical signals from the
