In earth-analogue simulations of missions to Moon and Mars, one of the challenges is the simulation of operational constraints such as the reduced gravity or the communication delay between the astronauts and mission control on Earth.

Two analogue simulations are planned in MOONWALK to simulate some of the conditions that astronauts will encounter during future extravehicular activities (EVA) on planetary surfaces: The project will conduct simulations offshore the coast of the French city of Marseille, where an EVA on the lunar surface under reduced gravity will be performed. A second simulation will be conducted in the Spanish desert region of Rio Tinto, where operations are focusing on exobiological sampling and sampling procedures under extreme environmental conditions.

In both trials, the astronaut will wear a simulation spacesuit that recreates the properties of a real pressurized spacesuit. The focus of the trials will be on the testing of communication and cooperation between an astronaut and a robotic helper.

Seven partner organizations will bring in their expertise: The DFKI Robotics Innovation Center in Bremen (Project Coordinator), COMEX in France (technical coordination), EADS in Great Britain, LIQUIFER Systems Group in Austria, Space Application Services in Belgium, NTNU Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Space in Norway and the Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial (INTA) in Spain.

The US space agency NASA is an associate partner in the project.