Swiss technology advances NASA’s 2028 Moon mission

Swiss technology will support NASA’s planned return of astronauts to the Moon from 2028, SRF reported on Tuesday.

At the Luna lunar centre in Cologne, researchers are simulating conditions near the Moon’s south pole. The facility recreates craters, rocks and lighting conditions across around 700 square metres, allowing teams to test technologies for future missions.

In the summer, a team from ETH Zurich tested robots designed to explore the lunar surface. Adrian Fuhrer of ETH Zurich’s Laboratory for Robotics Systems told RTS that the Moon presents numerous challenges for robotic systems. Temperatures can vary by several hundred degrees depending on sunlight, while regolith, the Moon’s layer of dust and rubble, is highly abrasive and can damage technical equipment, particularly robot joints.

To reproduce those conditions, the Luna centre uses a regolith substitute made from volcanic rock. The material has a rough texture similar to pumice stone.

Engineers from Venturi Space in Payerne, in the canton of Vaud, have also tested equipment in Cologne in recent months. The company is developing technology for future lunar vehicles and was selected by NASA through an American partner. Its central components for rovers are intended to transport astronauts across the lunar surface, including flexible wheels that can adapt to uneven terrain. The company says an experimental rover is due to be sent to the Moon for initial tests in 2026.

Researchers are also examining how construction materials could be produced directly on the Moon to support a permanent presence. At the Cologne centre, the German Aerospace Center is working with Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts to develop methods for turning lunar regolith into concrete or other components for a future lunar base.