NASA MSFC Lunar Surface Simulator (LSS): A Facility for Lunar Relevant Environment Testing

Abstract

NASA will resume crewed visits to the lunar sur-face beginning in the mid-2020s. Environmental testing is essential to developing and validating the hardware that will enable a sustained presence on the lunar surface. Lunar dust is one of the most pressing challenges that threatens the longevity of mechanical systems as well as the health of astronauts living and working on the Moon. Facilities that allow large pieces of hard-ware to be exposed to both lunar dust and the temperature and vacuum of the lunar environment are invaluable to the agency as well as to the broader community of international, academic, and industry partners with which the agency collaborates. Marshall Space Flight Center has out-fitted one of its largest test chambers with regolith simulant beds to create the Lunar Surface Simulator (LSS).