EAC-1A: A novel large-volume lunar regolith simulant

V S Engelschiøn,M Sperl,A Cowley,M Fateri,U Kueppers,S R Eriksson,A Meurisse

doi:10.1038/s41598-020-62312-4

Abstract

The European Astronaut Centre (EAC) is currently constructing the European Lunar Exploration Laboratory (LUNA), a large training and operations facility to be located adjacent to EAC at the DLR (German Aerospace Centre) campus in Cologne, Germany. With an estimated representative lunar testbed area of approximately 660 m2, a large volume of lunar regolith simulant material is needed for this purpose. In this study, a basanitic sandy silt from a quarry located in the Siebengebirge Volcanic Field is evaluated as a large-volume source of material. The focus of this project has been to conduct a physical and chemical characterisation of the fine-grained material to be used in LUNA; the European Astronaut Centre lunar regolith simulant 1 (EAC-1 A). The physical characterisation tests undertaken include sphericity, density measurements, cohesion and static angle of repose, with mineralogical investigations via petrographical analysis with optical microscope and SEM, XRF, XRD and DSC measurements. The results of the EAC-1A tests are compared to published data on existing widely used lunar regolith simulants, namely JSC-1A, JSC-2A, NU-LHT-3M, DNA and FJS-1.

Highlights

The European Astronaut Centre (EAC) is currently constructing the European Lunar Exploration Laboratory (LUNA), a large training and operations facility to be located adjacent to EAC at the DLR (German Aerospace Centre) campus in Cologne, Germany
The details of the LUNA dust chamber are yet to be defined following the construction of the main LUNA test bed in 2021 Currently, EAC-1A is already taken in use for small-scale, low-technology readiness levels (TRL) experiments undertaken by ESA
The physical properties of EAC-1A fall within the wide range of the lunar regolith with regards to cohesion, sphericity and grain size distribution

Summary

Introduction

The European Astronaut Centre (EAC) is currently constructing the European Lunar Exploration Laboratory (LUNA), a large training and operations facility to be located adjacent to EAC at the DLR (German Aerospace Centre) campus in Cologne, Germany. A basanitic sandy silt from a quarry located in the Siebengebirge Volcanic Field is evaluated as a large-volume source of material The focus of this project has been to conduct a physical and chemical characterisation of the fine-grained material to be used in LUNA; the European Astronaut Centre lunar regolith simulant 1 (EAC-1 A). In the context of likely future human and robotic exploration of the lunar surface, ESA has begun the development of the European Lunar Exploration Laboratory (LUNA) at EAC, Cologne, Germany This facility will address the growing needs of Europe to test, validate and develop technologies relevant for lunar exploration as well as practice surface operations to prepare for possible renewed human missions to the Moon. For non-grainsize dependent tests where samples of the Königswinter basanite rock specimens have been used, these are labelled as EAC-1 This does not refer to a specific grain size, but to the material itself. With the cancellation of The Constellation Programme (CxP), activities in the area decreased and there is currently no internationally accepted classification scheme for simulant materials

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Conclusion