Simulated lunar mission with EUROHAB at the DLR-ESA LUNA facility

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 simulation, centered around the EUROHAB lunar surface habitat, took place from Tuesday, April 8, 2025, to Friday, April 11, 2025, at the LUNA Facility next to the European Astronaut Centre (EAC) in Cologne. The planned experiments include intravehicular activities (IVAs) inside the habitat using equipment partly developed under a CNES contract, as well as extravehicular activities (EVAs).

The key experiments were conducted by the Fraunhofer Institute and DLR and focused on aerial surveillance, while the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI), in collaboration with Spartan Space, tested a concept for a docking system designed for the so-called Night Survival of rovers. They also tested what an artificial intelligence system for the habitat could look like. In addition, French start-ups Orius and Lumetis each contributed a greenhouse module and a system for analyzing lunar samples. The clinics of Marseille (Assistance Publique – Hôpitaux de Marseille) provided a compact echography system for patient diagnostics, which was developed by the Hôpital Nord clinic. Furthermore, a concept for a lunar airlock developed under a CNES contract by Spartan Space and Airbus was tested with the LUNA spacesuit simulator. This campaign enabled Spartan Space to further develop the concept of a Remote Base Camp for the South Pole of the Moon and to refine sample handling and dust mitigation techniques for such a future base. At the same time, scientific and operational data was generated together with the LUNA team, which in particular further refined and validated the dust exposure and dust handling in the context of a lunar habitat as well as the operational procedures in LUNA.