From Munich to the Moon

The European mission control centre near Munich, Germany, is set to undergo a transformation into a Moon mission control centre, tasked with supporting operations for missions to a lunar space station, the lunar surface and beyond.

Today marks a significant step forward as a letter of intent was signed between ESA, the German Aerospace Center DLR and the Free State of Bavaria to collaborate on the development of lunar mission control capabilities at ESA’s Columbus Control Centre (Col-CC) in Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany.

Col-CC’s primary responsibility currently lies in managing operations for Columbus, the European laboratory aboard the International Space Station. The evolution of the control centre will enable operational support for the key European contributions to the lunar Gateway space station, paving the way for developing operational concepts for infrastructure and human missions to the Moon and Mars.