Research How a moon base is supposed to contribute to climate protection

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The moon is a stepping stone for future missions, such as to Mars. Its proximity to Earth makes the moon an ideal location to simulate scenarios and test technologies to make them suitable for the unexplored vastness of space. Work is currently underway on a moon base for greater climate protection.

The effects of climate change are being felt worldwide. Space agencies and international research institutions are researching new technologies to protect sensitive ecosystems on Earth. At the Institute of Space Systems (IRS), researchers are examining as part of the "International Planetary Sunshade System" (IPSS) study the extent to which sunshades installed in space can help mitigate global warming.

Solar park on the moon

The concept: A moon base, named Diana (Dedicated Infrastructure and Architecture for Near-earth Astronautics), with an attached solar park.

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The mission: Extract and process resources on the moon for the production of sunshades.

Denis Acker, a doctoral student at the IRS, and students from the recently founded university group Astraeus e.V. (Advanced Space Technology Research for Astronautical Exploration of Uncharted Space) have been developing an infrastructure concept for three years to secure material for the IPSS concept. Denis Acker: "So far, everything is very theoretical, we haven't built any hardware yet. But it is close to what is really supposed to be done in the next few years."

Sunshades reflect solar radiation into space

Behind the sunshades lies a new technology designed to reflect a portion of solar radiation in space before it reaches the Earth. Researchers in the IPSS project at the IRS are concurrently investigating how effective and mature this technology is. The ESA and industry partners are sponsoring the project. "Sustainability plays a major role in our concept," says Acker. "That's why we want to build infrastructure where it will be used—on the moon." This avoids long transport routes, rocket launches, and CO₂ production on Earth. The fabrication of the sunshades is also intended to take place in space, with astronauts ensuring the extraction of necessary resources. To this end, Astraeus is designing plans for a habitable infrastructure on the moon that can sustain itself independently of Earth.

Living and working on the moon

During the construction of the Diana Base, Astraeus intends to largely forgo resources from Earth. Instead, regolith—moon dust and rock—will serve as building material. Diana and the solar cells are to be made using additive 3D printing processes with 85 percent lunar resources. "We will bring the remaining resources from Earth to make the station virtually 'weatherproof' against the prevailing gravitational and radiation conditions there," explains Acker.

The base expands from an initial provisional setup for a maximum of eight people to a small settlement consisting of three towers with space for 100 people and two greenhouses. Researchers also extract oxygen from regolith, which contains up to 40 percent of it. Oxygen extraction is essential for life support systems, such as ventilation and food production. "Regolith contains trace elements in addition to oxygen, which could be promising for a vertical farming concept on the moon," says Acker. The water supply will be ensured from the nearest de Gerlache moon crater.

Solar cell factory in space

In the beginning, the station will be powered by only a few solar energy sources brought from Earth. "We need 1.3 gigawatts of power just to construct the solar park," says Acker. Therefore, Astraeus relies on nuclear energy resources from Earth in the first construction phase.

Upon completion, the solar park can provide 17.5 gigawatts of energy over an area of 400 km², roughly the size of Cologne. The start-up Perosol at the Institute for Photovoltaics (IPV) supplies solar cell technology based on perovskites, which can withstand high radiation levels in space and could be predominantly manufactured with lunar resources.

"We have also arranged for a backup during the lunar night," says Acker. During the two weeks of permanent darkness at the moon's south pole, the Zeus satellite constellation supplies the station with sufficient energy. The Hermes constellation ensures communication with Earth – almost in real-time with only a minimal time delay of four to six seconds.

Possible launch 2027

The construction spans four phases and takes about 30 years. During this time, transport systems need to be established on the moon and several robotic systems must simultaneously extract approximately 580,000 tons of regolith. "This is an immense undertaking, but we are confident that it can be accomplished within this time frame," estimates Acker.

The large-scale project could start in 2027, provided Astraeus convinces the ESA of their concept. "Currently, we are developing a prototype in collaboration with the start-up Imensus to study the subsurface conditions on the moon and thus identify ideal mining areas." For this purpose, Astraeus is looking for students interested in contributing to the development of electronic hardware and software.