Photo: Joachim Rode

Visit the moon

Lunar landscape on Lyngby Campus...

Researchers have built a lunar landscape in the basement under DTU Space which is used for projects carried out for agencies such as NASA and ESA. This rig is used to simulate spacecraft landings. Work that DTU Space is doing for ESA, the results of which can be used in connection with establishing a spaceport or robot village on the moon.

It is a challenge to land on the moon and other sites with no atmosphere, because you cannot use a parachute or the like to brake the vessel’s descent. A rocket must be used, but its jet can eject rocks and stones in all directions, and risk damaging the equipment. The landing must therefore be carried out with ultra-high precision.

Photo: Joachim Rode

 

Note the small toy astronaut standing on an embankment slightly to the right of the centre of the picture. This figure is used to show the scale.