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 able to follow live from three different locations.
The team in the LUNA control room at the German Aerospace Centre (DLR) in Cologne monitored the environmental sensors in the FLEXHab. At the same time, experts in the MUSC control room, also in Cologne, and in the control room of the German Space Operations Center (GSOC) in Oberpfaffenhofen monitored the same data in real time via MCS-L. The operators were also able to exchange telemetry from the various LUNA subsystems via voice communication.
The sensors were able to precisely track the increase in CO2 levels as the experimenters breathed in the FLEXHab, as well as their change when the outer door was opened. This successfully demonstrated that MCS-L could not only automatically monitor the quality of the breathing air in future campaigns, but also enable hall monitoring, for example from the GSOC in Oberpfaffenhofen.
At the end of the campaign, the remote control of LUNA via MCS-L was tested. The team was able to switch the light in the FLEXHab on and off in the various rooms and change the brightness from Oberpfaffenhofen. The successful execution of the commands was not only monitored via video, but also via the sensors monitored by MCS-L.
MCS-L is based on EGS-CC (European Ground System – Common Core), a European initiative that provides software for both space flight operations and the preparatory phases of a mission. For use in LUNA, EGS-CC was specially adapted to the specific requirements of the LUNA project.