News

The EDEN LUNA plant growth facility has reached its first Assembly Integration and Verification (AIV) Milestone – the Thermal Control System (TCS) is installed and tested.

Robots on space missions can measure, build, analyse – and play a significant role in lunar exploration. But how well do they cope with the harsh conditions on the Moon? This is something that can be tested in the LUNA hall in Cologne.

The 18th SpaceOps Conference took place in Montréal from 26 to 30 May 2025. LUNA was also present and it became clear how important LUNA has become for international space travel.

The next time astronauts land on the Moon, we will watch it in high-definition. The transmission will be in colour, digital and at up to 60 frames per second.

On April 8, 2025, Spartan Space conducted a week-long simulation of lunar surface operations at the LUNA Analog Facility, Europe’s new ‘Moon on Earth’ simulation center of the European Space Agency (ESA) and the German Aerospace Center (DLR). The planned experiments include intravehicular activities (IVAs) inside the habitat using equipment

I’m standing on the Moon, and something reminds me of home. Although I’m surrounded by darkness, grey dreariness and lots of dust and stones, something keeps bringing my thoughts back to our house in Chiemgau. I don’t see anything that resembles my cosy home, with its greens and blues, so

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

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.

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

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.