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About

Dr. Aidan Cowley is a leading space scientist at the European Astronaut Centre (EAC), whose work is pivotal in preparing humanity for a sustained return to the Moon. His primary research focuses on lunar analogue facilities, planetary surface operations, and the development of human-robot teaming architectures for deep space exploration. Cowley is the scientific architect behind the LUNA project, a groundbreaking joint ESA-DLR endeavour that provides a 1,000 m² testbed of simulated lunar environments. His most cited work, "Lunar analogue facilities development at EAC: the LUNA project" (22 citations), establishes the foundational framework for these critical terrestrial simulations. He further demonstrated the power of immersive planning through a virtual reality study of a Moon outpost for Mars-enabling technologies (20 citations), showcasing how digital twins can optimize mission architecture. Cowley’s recent characterization of highland and mare lunar regolith simulants (EAC-1) provides the scientific community with standardized, high-fidelity materials for testing. By bridging the gap between Earth-bound simulation and extraterrestrial reality, Cowley is directly enabling the next generation of human exploration—from the Moon to Mars.