NASA has simulated a tiny part of the moon here on Earth
Before going to the moon, the Apollo astronauts trained at various sites on Earth that best approximated the lunar surface, such as the volcanic regions Iceland, Hawaii and the U.S. Southwest. To help prepare for upcoming ...
The Lunar Lab and Regolith Testbed at the Ames Research Center in California simulates conditions on the moon in a high-fidelity environment, allowing researchers to test hardware designs intended for the lunar surface. The lab is currently being used as a test environment for the next phases of the Artemis Program, to conduct studies on optical sensing and drill testing, and tests for in-situ resource utilization identification and extraction techniques.
The facility was originally built in 2009 but has now been expanded and upgraded to include a lunar lab with multiple testbeds with a variety of simulated lunar regolith. These large indoor "sandboxes" can be configured and customized to simulate various regions on the moon. In addition, a special lighting system can re-create realistic lighting conditions on the moon, such as the darkness of a lunar polar crater, or the glaring rays of the sun that the Apollo astronauts had to deal with in the lunar mares.
Using the Lunar Lab and Regolith Testbeds at NASA’s Ames Research Center, a team created this simulated lunar environment to study lighting conditions experienced at the unexplored poles of the moon. Credit: NASA/Uland Wong
In the Regolith Testbeds at NASA’s Ames Research Center, which are designed to mimic lunar terrain as it would appear in different areas at the Moon’s poles, the VIPER team tests out lighting systems for the rover with a very low-angle illumination simulating the Sun. Credit: NASA/Dominic Hart