Spartan Space – a European habitat for the Moon – and how those can help to address challenges on planet Earth

Abstract

The ARTEMIS programme will open a new era of space exploration and a beginning of a sustainable presence and exploration of the lunar surface. The Moon is not ‘a’ steppingstone towards Mars, it is ‘the’ steppingstone. The target of these missions is the lunar South Pole due to strategic resources that will be needed to set up a sustainable presence on the Moon’s surface and to prepare towards destinations such as planet Mars. But one must understand that the region of interest has approximately the size of the city of Paris, so it will be crowed up there.
Dr. Peter Weiss will present ARTEMIS not only from a European perspective but also from the point of view of one of the start-ups in Europe’s space sector that are targeting the Moon. What could be a European contribution to ARTEMIS, complementary to the US ARTEMIS program ?
SPARTAN SPACE from Marseille, France works with its industrial and agency partners in Europe on the development of a secondary habitat “EUROHAB” which can be brought to the lunar surface by European capacities. It can serve as base camp for extended extravehicular activities of ARTEMIS’ crews and might become a rallying point between different robotic and human missions.
Dr. Weiss will present this concept and illustrate its development since 2021 by SPARTAN SPACE. He will also show the industrial challenge and its business model which is based on the return of technologies to terrestrial applications: Technologies that can serve to sustain astronauts on the lunar surface can help to reduce some of the challenges on planet Earth: Energy Management, Water Recycling and CO2 reduction are some key functionalities which are integrated in EUROHAB. Similar technologies can also be implemented in normal households in the future to reduce the impact on the planet. The development of technology for human space exploration can also come to the help of our terrestrial challenges.

A short bio

Dr. Peter WEISS is Founder and CEO of SPARTAN SPACE Marseille, France. Peter has more than 20 years of experience in the management of industrial and research projects in the maritime and space sector. He is the Founder and CEO of SPARTAN-SPACE, a start-up company specializing on the development of underwater and space habitats and platforms. SPARTAN SPACE is involved in the development of the European modules for the GATEWAY and develops, under CNES contract, a concept of a secondary habitat for the lunar surface (EUROHAB). SPARTAN SPACE is part of the selection of start-ups in the TECHNTHEMOON initiative by CNES. The start-up company is also involved in several underwater habitat developments. During his career he tries to combine his passion for space and the oceans. Peter worked at the DLR in Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany, on a motor drive of a lightweight robot arm, at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston, USA, on the development of artificial muscles for self-transforming robotic planetary explorers, at Cybernetix in Marseille, France, as Project Manager for European Commission on underwater robotics and AUV, at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University on a robotic microgravity sampling device for the PHOBOS-GRUNT mission and for over ten years as Director of the Space Department and Company Board member of COMEX in Marseille, France in underwater space simulations and astronaut training. He was Co-Founder and President until 2016 of POWERSEA, a start-up company for the development of connectors for marine renewables. Peter was awarded in the APOPHIS MISSION DESIGN COMPETITION, organized by NASA, ESA and the PLANETARY SOCIETY. He received the French Medal of Internal Security for the intervention and psychological support of the families of the Germanwings airplane crash in 2015 (as member of the French Red Cross), the OCEANS X SPACE Business Applications Competition prize by European Space Agency in 2018 and a special mention by the Concours Jacques Rougerie International Architecture and Arts prizes in 2020 for the EUROHAB concept.

Links

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