PHOENIX Spectrometers Demo Test at the LUNA Analog Facility
In late February 2026, the LUNA Analog Facility became the setting for a valuable milestone in a lunar exploration technology: the demonstration test of the PHOENIX (Portable Handheld cOmbinEd RamaN-LIBS-XRF) spectrometer. Developed through a collaboration between the Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial (INTA, ES), the University of Leicester (UK), the University of Valladolid (ES), and the company Mission Control Inc. (CA), and supported by the ExPeRT and CAVES & PANGAEA teams of ESA’s Human and Robotic Exploration directorate, PHOENIX is designed to enable astronauts to perform in situ geochemical analysis of rocks and minerals directly on the lunar surface – a key capability for future human exploration missions.
The campaign tested two prototype instruments, PHOENIX BB1 (combining Raman spectroscopy and Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy, or LIBS) and PHOENIX BB2 (combining Raman spectroscopy and X-Ray Fluorescence spectrometry, or XRF), in a simulated lunar environment for the first time. Both are TRL4-level breadboard instruments capable of non-destructive, in situ mineral identification. ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer served as the suited extravehicular operator for the main demonstration, drawing on his extensive experience with space instrumentation to provide structured operational feedback. His participation was central to one of the campaign’s core objectives: assessing how effectively a lunar astronaut can use the instruments under realistic mission conditions.
The LUNA facility, with its two types of lunar regolith simulants, rock samples and advanced Sun Simulator capable of reproducing the harsh lighting conditions of the lunar surface, provided an ideal environment for this transition from clean preparation room testing to analog field operations. Over two campaign days (24–25 February 2026), the team executed four structured operational scenarios: sunlit surface operations with the Sun Simulator active, deep shadow operations using only the instruments’ built-in LED illumination, a traverse simulation requiring the operator to navigate between ten measurement stations within strict time limits, and a contamination and recovery test, in which regolith dust was intentionally applied to rock samples before the operator cleaned and re-measured them. Each scenario was designed to replicate conditions expected during lunar surface operations.
A central focus of the campaign was evaluating instrument usability under EVA suit constraints. For the main demonstration, Matthias Maurer performed measurements while wearing the LUNA analog suit, including EVA gloves. This tested key performance indicators including “Time-to-Spectrum” (the elapsed time from powering on the instrument to obtaining a valid spectral result, with a target of under three minutes) as well as first-attempt success rates for acquiring valid spectra with gloved hands, and the ability to recover from measurement errors within two minutes. While M. Maurer navigated the regolith simulant bed in the LUNA Atlas suit simulator, the PHOENIX team provided active on-field instrument support. This was designed to simulate real-life ground-support operations, where the technical and science support teams work in tandem with the astronaut to manage the instruments during surface exploration missions. Following the suited sessions, Matthias Maurer participated in a campaign debrief capturing operator feedback on ergonomics, display readability under sunlit conditions, and recommendations for future instrument upgrades.
The rock samples selected for the campaign represent a range of lunar-analogue lithologies from the LUNA facility’s collection, including anorthosites from Norway (analogous to lunar highland crustal material), basalts from Etna and Lanzarote (analogous to lunar mare material), suevite impact breccias from the Ries Crater (analogous to shocked lithologies found in impact basins), and peridotite nodules. Measurements were taken across all four scenarios to assess spectral data quality and instrument robustness under variable lighting and dust conditions. The campaign also validated the complete operational lifecycle of both instruments (encompassing unpacking, assembly, calibration, field deployment, cleaning, and repacking), an essential step in demonstrating mission readiness for future high-TRL development phases.
The PHOENIX campaign at LUNA marks an important step forward in the instrument’s development roadmap, advancing both breadboards from controlled laboratory validation towards the operational maturity required for lunar field applications. The quantitative performance data and operator feedback gathered during the campaign will directly inform the next generation of design improvements, with the longer-term goal of contributing PHOENIX-derived technology to future ESA lunar exploration programmes.