Astronauts live in action and an exploring robot: the LUNA Hall is open
| Space
Astronauts live in action and an exploring robot: the LUNA Hall is open
Training on the 'Moon on Earth'
At the opening of the LUNA Analog Facility – the training facility for long-term astronaut and robotic missions to the Moon – astronauts Thomas Pescet and Matthias Maurer demonstrate investigations of the lunar surface
The LUNA facility is abuzz with activity. Spotlights are being carried out of the hall. Students use vacuum cleaners and brushes to clean futuristic white equipment. People dressed in overalls carry rods and parts of a multilayer insulation system outside. Staff in full protective suits drag rakes through the regolith. The facility security team stand in front of the hall, surrounded by yellow lights, loading folded information signs into their van. I carefully remove my access wristband with the DLR and ESA logos, fold it and put it away. In summary, LUNA has had its grand opening!
Opening of the LUNA facility
ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst, DLR Chair Anke Kaysser-Pyzalla and Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia, Hendrik Wüst, at the LUNA facility's opening ceremony on 25 September 2024
In addition to their usual project work, our team has been busy over recent weeks preparing for the LUNA opening, led by the Communication departments of ESA and DLR. This took immense effort, fitting for a development of such importance. At the high-profile part of the event, the Minister-President of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), Hendrik Wüst; NRW Minister for Economic Affairs, Industry, Climate Action and Energy, Mona Neubaur; Federal Government Coordinator for German Aerospace, Anna Christmann; ESA Director-General, Josef Aschbacher; and DLR Chair, Anke Kaysser-Pyzalla, all highlighted the importance of LUNA for space, exploration and the Cologne area.
Then, it was showtime. All present were provided with shoe covers, FFP2 masks and cleanroom hair nets. They lined up on the circulation grid in the pitch-black hall, guided by helpers with torches. Then the spectacle began. In reality, it was nothing out of the ordinary – just the work LUNA staff will carry out as a matter of routine: two astronauts exploring the surface of the Moon, assisted by a robot. In the future, this will be the standard fare in the hall, but on this occasion, everyone was thrilled to witness it. The whole thing was accompanied by music and light effects.
The LUNA project team
The joint ESA and DLR project team
Credit:
DLR/ESA
Routine or not, the work carried out here is very special indeed. Through LUNA, we will be part of international efforts that allow people to research, live and work on the Moon again, as well as contributing to preparations for the first crewed landing on Mars. We will play a part in missions to places where no human has been before. A few hundred years ago, visiting the Moon was also seen as more of a myth than a reality.
Now, we are doing what people of all ages around the world dream of: discovering unknown realms and learning where our planet comes from. In this respect, our opening show was truly spectacular – and our daily work in LUNA will always be just as remarkable. The LUNA Hall is now open. The really exciting part is only just beginning.
LUNA Analog Facility
The Moon also now lives on Earth – at DLR’s site in Cologne
