NewsBytes
    Hindi Tamil Telugu
    More
    In the news
    Narendra Modi
    Amit Shah
    Box Office Collection
    Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
    OTT releases
    Hindi Tamil Telugu
    NewsBytes
    User Placeholder

    Hi,

    Logout

    India
    Business
    World
    Politics
    Sports
    Technology
    Entertainment
    Auto
    Lifestyle
    Inspirational
    Career
    Bengaluru
    Delhi
    Mumbai

    Download Android App

    Follow us on
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Linkedin
    Home / News / Technology News / There's now a basketball court-sized 'Moon' on Earth
    Summarize
    Next Article
    There's now a basketball court-sized 'Moon' on Earth
    LUNA facility is located in Germany

    There's now a basketball court-sized 'Moon' on Earth

    By Dwaipayan Roy
    Oct 09, 2024
    02:26 pm

    What's the story

    The European Space Agency (ESA) and the German Aerospace Center have created an ambitious project to simulate the Moon's conditions on Earth.

    The effort, dubbed the LUNA (Lunar Analog) facility, is situated at the European Astronaut Centre near Cologne, Germany.

    The facility has 900 tons of pulverized volcanic rock, akin to lunar soil, laid out over an area just bigger than a basketball court.

    Training hub

    A training ground for astronauts

    The LUNA facility acts as a training ground where astronauts can experience Moon-like conditions.

    The artificial lunar soil, or regolith, in this 700-square-meter hall is made from volcanic soils from Italy's Mount Etna, Germany's Eifel region, and rocks from Norway.

    Juergen Schlutz, LUNA Facility Engineer and Moon Strategy Lead at European Space Agency, said the facility has about "900 tons of regolith simulating material" to replicate the dusty environment and mobility on the lunar surface.

    Lunar simulation

    Simulating lunar conditions at the facility

    The LUNA facility also employs movable ceiling-mounted trolleys to recreate the Moon's low-gravity environment.

    These trolleys follow the movements of a suspended astronaut or rover.

    ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst stressed that this facility mimics "most aspects that we will encounter on the moon," such as "the surface, the lunar dust, the rocks, [and] the lighting."

    Exploration demo

    Astronauts demonstrate lunar exploration at LUNA facility

    At the LUNA facility, astronauts Matthias Maurer (Germany) and Thomas Pesquet (France) showed how they would collect samples and explore a crater on the real Moon.

    The hangar's lighting was adjusted to simulate how sunlight would block an astronaut's vision during an actual lunar mission.

    Cables attached to their spacesuits' exterior created resistance as they walked, and suspended them mid-air as they jumped, making their training experience all the more real.

    Soil simulation

    LUNA's soil: A close match to Moon's surface

    The lunar soil at LUNA is created from volcanic rock dug from the Siebengebirge mountain range, which is situated near the facility.

    The rock is then processed to closely mimic the Moon's surface.

    The artificial lunar regolith, dubbed EAC-1, is based on volcanic powder that settled in Germany's Eifel region some 45 million years ago.

    ESA has been experimenting with the material for years now, even using it to create "moon bricks" for potential use in future lunar colonies.

    Facebook
    Whatsapp
    Twitter
    Linkedin
    Related News
    Latest
    European Space Agency
    Germany
    Moon
    Space News

    Latest

    'Jurassic World Rebirth': All we know about horrifying mutant dinosaurs Mahershala Ali
    IPL 2025, LSG defeat GT: How the Impact Players fared Indian Premier League (IPL)
    William O'Rourke's 3-fer helps LSG to victory over GT: Stats Gujarat Titans
    IPL 2025, Shahrukh Khan slams valiant 57 versus LSG: Stats Indian Premier League (IPL)

    European Space Agency

    Scientists discover closest black hole to Earth. Thankfully, it's dormant Black Hole
    Astronomers discover oldest dead star 90 light-years away from Earth Space News
    How NASA plans to bring back samples from Mars? Perseverance Rover
    British Paralympian John McFall selected as ESA's first differently-abled astronaut Space News

    Germany

    India's consumer market projected to outgrow Germany, Japan by 2026  China
    Lead made Beethoven sick, but it didn't kill him: Study Hepatitis B
    Why Motorola, Lenovo cannot sell goods in Germany anymore Lenovo
    AstraZeneca COVID vaccine linked to another rare blood clotting disorder AstraZeneca

    Moon

    Odysseus spacecraft launched by SpaceX blasts off to the Moon SpaceX
    NASA offers last chance to send your name to Moon NASA
    Intuitive Machines gears up for second lunar expedition in 2024 Space News
    US government commissions NASA to create lunar timekeeping system NASA

    Space News

    ESA's 24-year-old satellite set to make 'targeted' re-entry tomorrow European Space Agency
    Elon Musk unveils roadmap to establish self-sustaining city on Mars Elon Musk
    NASA mission to explore Jupiter's moon will launch next month Jupiter
    Stranded in space, Sunita Williams shares experiences of extended stay International Space Station (ISS)
    Indian Premier League (IPL) Celebrity Hollywood Bollywood UEFA Champions League Tennis Football Smartphones Cryptocurrency Upcoming Movies Premier League Cricket News Latest automobiles Latest Cars Upcoming Cars Latest Bikes Upcoming Tablets
    About Us Privacy Policy Terms & Conditions Contact Us Ethical Conduct Grievance Redressal News News Archive Topics Archive Download DevBytes Find Cricket Statistics
    Follow us on
    Facebook Twitter Linkedin
    All rights reserved © NewsBytes 2025