Europe’s mission to the Moon
Developing what we’ll need to build a sustainable presence
Issue 81. Subscribers 3,836.
Welcome to my 40 new subscribers. I apologize for the lateness of this one. I got carried away, and the research took significantly longer than I had initially anticipated.
Earlier this month, the European Space Agency presented an ambitious proposal for a sustained human presence on the Moon. The agency contracted Australian architectural firm Hassell to develop the concept with the assistance of Cranfield University in the United Kingdom. The Lunar Master Plan was presented during the agency's annual Space For Inspiration Event on 19 January at its Space Research and Technology Centre in the Netherlands.
The project was contracted through ESA's Discovery element, which the agency uses to peer "beyond the immediate planning horizon." This calls for identifying novel concepts and technology and conducting potentially disruptive research studies and early technology development activities.
Hassell's Lunar Master Plan combines modular inflatable compartments that can be connected together to form the basic habitat with 3D-printed radiation shielding created from lunar regolith. The shielding is made up of 3D-printed tetrapods that are stacked to form the shields.
While the concept includes research and accommodation facilities, it offers significantly more. In its Lunar Master Plan, the company considers "not just the essential elements that make a habitat liveable, but how we can create a prosperous permanent community for almost 150 people in reduced gravity." With this aim in mind, the plan calls for social spaces including restaurants, sports arenas, and parks.
The Lunar Master Plan is a concept that harks back to the sci-fi utopias of the 70s and 80s that Gene Roddenberry's Star Trek so well encapsulated. It's a nice idea, but it's unlikely to ever really materialize, certainly not in the short or medium-term development of a sustained presence on the Moon. There will just be too much of a premium placed on every scrap of infrastructure built on the lunar surface. At best, visitors will be able to enjoy the view in a lunar equivalent to the Cupola on the International Space Station. And if that view includes a daily glimpse of an Earth rise, it will certainly be worth the price of admission.
As a result, I’m not really sure if I see the value of ESA contracting this research. Maybe it’s that while the larger plan is likely not feasible, elements of the concept may become part of something that does actually make it onto the surface of the Moon. Fortunately, this isn’t Europe’s only contribution to developing a sustained presence on the Moon.
Habitats
French startup Spartan Space is developing EUROHAB, an inflatable multiuse lunar habitat. EUROHAB, which has a diameter of around seven metres, would be carried to the surface of the Moon aboard a robotic lander, ESA's Argonaut lander, for instance. Spartan Space envisions a wide range of applications for EUROHAB, including using it as an outpost to extend the range of exploration for astronauts visiting the lunar surface, a safe haven in the case of off-nominal scenarios, a science station that could be operated autonomously when uncrewed, and as a storage space for future missions.
Between 20 January and 22 January, Spartan Space took a CNES-funded prototype of EUROHAB to a frozen lake in the French Alps to conduct a simulated lunar mission. According to the company, the primary aim of the simulation, which it has now completed successfully, was to test the habitat concept and to validate its ability to endure extreme environments. The mission included soil sampling, solar harvesting, and equipment testing.
The EUROHAB simulated lunar mission was interesting because it brought together a number of interesting European startups. For instance, the simulation was conducted in collaboration with Swedish startup PARSEC Spaceflight. As the story goes, the founders of PARSEC have a shared interest in becoming astronauts, which led them to apply for the recent ESA astronaut recruitment drive. It was during the ESA astronaut selection process that they crossed paths and ultimately decided to create PARSEC Spaceflight. The company is focused on providing a broad range of training to potential astronauts, from basic to space readiness and even mission-specific training.
During the simulated mission, Dr. Camilla Tossi, Dr. Silvana Pinna, and Dr. Dirk Raiser donned analog spacesuits from the Czechian startup ICEE Space. This is also a really interesting company. In addition to developing the BORP analog spacesuit, it offers commercial analog astronaut training and experiences. It also offers environments to develop systems for multi-planetary human civilization. The company is currently preparing for its third analog mission CHILL-ICE III, which will take place in Iceland and include four analog astronauts and a backup crew of four. The aim of the mission is to assess the suitability of a lunar lava tube environment for long-term habitation. It will include testing a habitat and the technology required to deploy it in the harsh environment. It will also include various research experiments.
When it comes to habitats, Spartan Space isn’t the only game in town. ASI and prime contractor Thales Alenia Space Italia recently launched the Phase A development of the Multi-Purpse Habitat. The country hopes that it will be the first permanent outpost on the Moon. While the project is being pushed by ASI, a June 2022 bilateral cooperation agreement with NASA means the project could potentially be utilized for the US agency's Artemis programme. To this end, the project has completed a NASA element initiation review, ensuring its place on the table when NASA planners outline the agency's initial missions to the lunar surface.
Neither Thales Alenia Space nor ASI has given any real indication about the dimensions, crew capacity, or primary use of the habitat. In a September 2020 agreement, the project is described as the development of "crew habitation capabilities on the surface of the Moon and associated technologies to enable short-duration stays for crew on the Moon."
ASI and Thales Alenia Space are currently working towards a mission concept review, which is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2024. Apart from Argonaut, this is certainly one of the most promising of Europe’s efforts to contribute to the realization of a sustained presence on the Moon.
Landers
In Greek mythology, the Argonauts were a band of heroes who accompanied Jason on his quest to find the Golden Fleece. In the late 2020s and into the 2030s, ESA's Argonaut lander will accompany crews of astronauts to the surface of the Moon to discover what mysteries lay untouched by human hands.
Previously referred to as the European Large Logistics Lander or EL3, the ten-tonne lander will have a diameter of 4.5 metres and stand at around 6 metres tall. It will have a payload capacity of up to 1,200 kilograms and will be capable of performing a precise landing within 100 metres of a target. Argonaut will be launched aboard an Ariane 64 and have a wide range of applications, including cargo transportation, science missions, and crewed support roles.
Industry was given the go-ahead to begin the development of Argonaut following the programme's approval at ESA's ministerial level council meeting towards the end of 2022. The agency has projected that it will launch around five Argonaut missions over the next decade.
In addition to its practical utility, Argonaut will also serve as a bargaining chip for ESA to negotiate European boots on the Moon. In a breakdown of its Terrae Novae exploration programme, the agency explains that the lander "will support sustained human exploration throughout the 2030s and ensure the first European steps onto the Moon's surface before 2030.”
The Exploration Company is developing far more than just a lunar lander. It's developing a modular system that will be used for a number of applications, including as a free flyer and as a space station cargo transport vehicle. Nyx Moon is the variant that will be capable of delivering cargo and, eventually, maybe even crew to lunar orbit and the surface of the Moon.
While the company is currently working on launching its first subscale prototype aboard an ISRO PSLV flight, manufacturing a larger prototype, and preparing a proposal for ESA's LEO Cargo Return Service, it is making progress on Nyx Moon. In November 2023, the company completed the second test campaign of a thrust chamber for the engine that will power the lunar lander. Over a series of eight tests, the engine was fired for a total of 560 seconds.
Nyx Moon is envisioned to be a very versatile vehicle. According to the Exploration company, it will be capable of delivering 5,500 kilograms to the Lunar Gateway space station and 2,000 kilograms to the lunar surface. Additionally, it will be capable of landing and hopping from one location to another, reaching target destinations up to 100 kilometres away. Theoretically, this would allow the lander to deploy multiple payloads to different locations on the surface of the Moon.
Logistics
Logistics is an imperfect description of this category because landers offers logistics services. This category examines companies developing orbital transfer vehicles (OTVs) with the capability to deliver customer payloads to lunar orbit. In Europe, there are a number of companies developing vehicles that they tout as being capable of delivering on this capability.
The Rocket Factory Augsburg Redshift and UARX Space Ossie vehicles are both expected to offer access to lunar orbit. RFA actually outlines the vehicle’s payload capacity to lunar orbit, stating Redshift has the capability to carry up to 300 kilograms. The company is also developing Argo, an LEO cargo transport vehicle that it says could eventually be utilized for lunar missions. However, the likelihood of that project moving ahead will probably be dependent on the company receiving funding for it as part of the ESA LEO Cargo Return Service initiative. UARX is also exploring the development of lunar landers. In 2021, the company signed a cooperation agreement with DLR to collaborate to pursue both low Earth orbit applications of the company’s spacecraft in addition to potential lunar missions.
ESA and ArianeGroup are developing what is likely the most capable OTV for transportation services to lunar orbit. Billed as an add-on capability for Ariane 6, ESA has described the Astris kick stage as being able to provide deep space access for customer payloads. Potential destinations include the Moon, Mars, and even asteroids. The project is part of the Ariane 6 Competitiveness Improvement Programme. ArianeGroup received a €90 million development contract in 2021 for the project. At the time, a maiden flight to Astris was expected by mid-2024. In early 2023, ESA told European Spaceflight that this expected launch date had shifted to the end of 2025. With Ariane 6 suffering additional delays after that readjustment was confirmed, it's likely that the kick stage's debut may have already slipped into 2026.
Testing and training
Germany's Planetary Transportation Systems has built its Spacelab Rostock lunar simulation environment, allowing companies, academic institutions, and governmental agencies to test lunar rovers for missions to the Moon. Located on the grounds of the Rostock-Laage Airport, customers can book slots at the facility online, ranging from one to twenty days. In addition to the testing of rovers, the company also offers support for terrain experiments and terrain modeling. It also offers the capability to test in reduced gravity to allow teams to gauge how their rovers will perform once on the surface of the Moon.
We already discussed how ICEE Space and PARSEC Spaceflight are offering training to future astronauts. There is also the UK-based Blue Abyss. The company is currently working towards building two training centres, one in the UK and one in the United States. In fact, earlier this year, the company announced that it had completed the purchase of 12 acres of land in Brook Park, Ohio, which it will use to build a training centre. Once completed, it will feature the world's largest and deepest R&D pool, a facility that is often used to train astronauts in an environment close to that of the weightlessness of space. It will also utilize a nearby airport to host parabolic flights, enabling microgravity research and training.
Services
I think we take for granted how ubiquitous navigation and communication services are here on Earth. I also don’t think it’ll come as a surprise to anyone that these services don’t exist on the Moon. Not yet, at least. If we are to build a sustained presence on the Moon, both navigation and communication services will be vitally important. Enter ESA’s Moonlight initiative. This is not as flashy as the NASA boots-on-the-ground missions, but it is potentially the most important effort to build a sustained presence on the Moon.
Moonlight is the agency’s effort to, through partnerships with industry, launch a constellation of satellites that enable communications and navigation services to the organizations and companies behind the more than 200 missions to the Moon that are planned over the next ten years. Early outlines of the project call for an initial constellation of three or four satellites carried into lunar orbit aboard a space tug, which will likely be Astris. The constellation will be optimized to give coverage to the lunar South Pole, whose sustained sunlight and polar ice make it a primary focus of upcoming missions.
The Surrey Satellite Technology Lunar Pathfinder mission will be the first test of ESA's planned Moonlight infrastructure. The spacecraft is due to be launched in 2025 and will carry an ESA GNSS receiver that will be capable of detecting weak signals coming from Earth's GNSS infrastructure (GPS and Galileo). The payload will demonstrate the technology's potential role in lunar navigation. Lunar Pathfinder will also carry a payload for NASA.
Conclusion
There is a sad story at the end here. The United Kingdom's Spacebit has developed a four-legged walking rover that will be tasked with exploring the Moon's long-since-cooled lava tubes. The great news is not only is a 1.5-kilogram prototype called Asagumo ready, but it has already been launched. The bad news is that it was aboard the ill-fated Astrobotic Peregrine Mission One that was launched aboard the maiden flight of the ULA Vulcan Centaur earlier this year. As far as I can tell, the company has not yet made a public statement regarding the loss of Asagumo. It would have been amazing to see the little guy scurrying around the lunar surface.
I end this deep dive into Europe’s efforts to explore the Moon on this low note because I think it offers a stark contrast to the Hassell Lunar Master Plan. Where the latter is polished and packed with some fantastic models and computer-generated imagery, it really has no soul. If the study’s purpose was to inspire, it failed. And that’s got very little to do with Hassell. By all accounts, the company delivered on what was asked. I can’t help thinking, though, that the money spent on the models and the CGI would have been better utilized contributing to the development of Asagumo. That’s not to say that its mission would have ended any differently if it had. But the next robot spider may just get its shot at exploring the lunar surface, and I hope to see it sporting an ESA logo when that happens. That being said, I think it goes without saying after the above review that ESA and European industry are answering the call to be active participants in the future lunar economy. We are going to the Moon, and we’re not just going to be visiting.