ESA astronaut makes landing on Moon's south pole inside simulator; says 'it was beautiful'

European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Roberto Vittori now knows how it would feel like to be on the Moon as he just made a polar landing on the lunar surface, inside a simulator. Hailing from Italy, Vittori was part of a project to design a ‘human-in-the-loop’ lunar landing system which required him to enter an advanced flight simulator to try out a mock polar touchdown. Since scientists are ramping up preparations for a return to the Moon via NASA's Artemis program, ESA says that the mock landing was to gain insights to improve the robustness and reliability of flight systems. 

(DLR Robotic Motion Simulator; Image: ESA)

'It was a beautiful run': Vittori

Reflecting on his latest experience, Vittori said, "it was a beautiful run" as he jumped into the unique motion simulator-based at the German Aerospace Center (DLR). "The simulator is an incredible machine, probably one of the best I have experienced. This experiment today is for me showing that Europe can play a key role in the future of exploration", added the veteran of three spaceflights. 

The simulator is designed for extreme tilt angles and manoeuvres and is side-lit by the sun and has a heavily cratered surface that is mired in shadow. The conditions made for a perfect representation of the Moon's south pole, which is a highly challenging lunar landing target, says ESA. While in the simulator, the astronaut was able to experience how a spacecraft behaves during crucial flight phases. Besides, he also was subjected to various scenarios, such as the autopiloted spacecraft which was descending on a site littered with boulders. Vittori's test was to intervene and find an alternative landing spot. There was also a technical fault in the autopilot following which the astronaut switched to full manual control and pilot the module manually for landing. 

ESA project manager Luca Ferracina said in an ESA statement, "Our primary goal has been to evaluate human-machine interfaces and assistance functions for spacecraft. We’re establishing a preliminary design and the preliminary requirements for a human lunar landing, with astronauts in the loop to improve robustness and reliability of the flight system". 

Image: ESA