Road to the stars: Training for the Moon at LUNA

Join us with ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer as we explore LUNA – our state-of-the-art Moon analogue facility located next to the European Astronaut Centre in Cologne, Germany. A joint project between ESA and DLR, LUNA is designed to simulate the lunar surface and will train astronauts and support a wide range of research and technology development for future missions to the Moon and beyond.

This is the first episode of our ESA Explores podcast series diving into everything you want to know about the activities at ESA's European Astronaut Centre. Recorded in August 2024.

Find out more about LUNA here: Home - Luna Analog Facility (luna-analog-facility.de)

More about the Artemis programme: https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Human_and_Robotic_Exploration/Orion

Glossary: DLR - Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (German Aerospace Center), EAC - European Astronaut Centre, EMU - Extravehicular Mobility Unit, EVA - Extravehicular Activity, NBF - Neutral Buoyancy Facility, NBL - Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory

Host and audio editing by Laura Zurmühlen, featuring music by Denzel Lorge.