Berlin: European scientists are trying to create a moon on Earth. The European Space Agency (ESA) and the German Aerospace Center have established the Luna Analog Facility in Germany. The facility, built to mimic the Moon‘s environment, is an important step in preparing astronauts for Moon missions. The Luna Analog Facility contains 900 tons of crushed volcanic rock, taken from areas such as Germany’s Eifel and Italy’s Mount Etna. It mimics the surface of the Moon. This facility is spread over 700 square meters. Astronauts can get training here to work in conditions similar to the Moon. This involves dealing with dusty environments and navigating lunar craters. Roof-mounted trolleys will be used to simulate the low-gravity conditions of the Moon. This will work when they jump or walk, which will make them experience less gravity like the moon.
Moon will be copied
ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst discussed the new facility and explained that it will mimic much of what we encounter on the Moon. He also discussed features such as the moon’s surface, dust, rocks and lighting, and said, ‘We will be working in spacesuits that limit our ability to move or see.’ ‘We have about 900 tonnes of material to recreate the dusty atmosphere and dynamics on the surface,’ said Juergen Schlutz, LUNA Facility Engineer and Moon Strategy Lead at the European Space Agency.
There will be practice before going to the moon
Astronauts Matthias Maurer of Germany and Thomas Pesquet of France demonstrated how sunlight is created at the facility and what kind of problems the astronauts will face during the mission. They also demonstrated techniques for exploring and collecting samples inside lunar craters. The project is currently in the prototype stage. NASA is once again running a mission to take humans to the moon through Artemis Mission. The European Space Agency has got three places in this programme.