European Space Agency took to Instagram and shared that they are recreating the Moon’s surface on Earth. To do this, the agency collaborated with a mine in Greenland that will provide them with an anorthosite. As per ESA, anorthosite is “an igneous, light-colored rock that has similar properties to material found on the Moon”.
European Space Agency Says They Are Building Moon-Like Surface
- ESA also informed, “We’re building two testbeds at our European Astronaut Centre. One testbed will cover 700 square metres!
- It will mimic the lunar mare regions, and huge lava plains on the lunar surface.
- The other testbed will simulate a dusty lunar highland using about 20 tonnes of anorthosite.
- The plan is to use these environments to train astronauts who might one day go to the Moon, offering a full immersion and simulation of the lunar surface activities.
Lunar Materials Will Be Used To Build New Technologies
ESA further added, “They will also be used to develop new technologies, including those that use local lunar materials to generate oxygen, water, and building materials, for instance.”
European Space Agency is recreating the Moon’s surface on Earth so it can help astronauts.
People Reacted On This
An individual wrote, “This is so cool.”
A second commented, “The big problem on that is the regolith and its gravity, and how to simulate it on earth for training lunar spacewalks and its impacts on human health and new lunar space technologies.”
“Wow, this is amazing! Will this be open to the public? I ain’t no astronaut but, I want to see the moon,” posted a third.
The post also has close to 4,000 likes and numerous comments. Many people were astonished to learn how the agency is planning to recreate the Moon’s surface.