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In this paper, we report on the on-going development of a compact analytical instrument for future missions to the Moon, using the LIBS technique. The instrument, christened VOILA (Volatiles Identification by Laser Ablation), is part of the “LUVMI-X” scenario funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 programme which envisions the concept of a rover carrying a suite of instruments for detecting and characterizing volatiles as a component of lunar soil (“regolith”) at high latitudes on the Moon. Behaviour of the plasma created by LIBS target ablation depends on the prevalent atmospheric pressure. Mars atmospheric pressure is close to ideal for the LIBS technique. On bodies without atmosphere such as the Moon, the lack of confining pressure leads to the plasma dissipating quickly causing weaker signals. India has developed the first, modest LIBS instrument for operation on the Moon with however a number of limitations in its optical design. Moreover, the lander of the corresponding mission Chandrayaan-2 crashed during landing in 2019. Our VOILA is designed to be between the quite capable but large and massive Mars LIBS instruments of NASA (ChemCam on the CURIOSITY ANCE rover), and the very modest Indian LIBS for Chandrayaan- 2. The VOILA working range will vary between 0.3 and 0.5 m, with a laser pulse energy of ~15 mJ.

Our current knowledge about the Moon's resource potential is limited to remote-sensing measurements and the analysis of Apollo-era samples. Even though there are persistent indications for substantial deposits of water and other volatiles-especially in the lunar polar regions-high-resolution mapping and in-situ measurements are required to assess the technical feasibility and economic viability of exploiting them. The LUVMI-X mission will use a 50-kg rover equipped with complementary instrumentation to prospect illuminated and shadowed areas in the Moon's polar regions through the use of laser spectroscopy, neutron spectroscopy, and direct sampling in combination with mass spectroscopy. It will also analyze the regolith composition and characterize the surface radiation environment.

Recent remote sensing missions have established the presence of water-ice in permanently shadowed regions (PSRs) located at the lunar poles, offering the possibility of a source of material for future in situ resource utilisation (ISRU). ISRU offers the opportunity to make use of locally available resources and to potentially reduce the costs associated with transporting materials such as water, hydrogen, and oxygen to the lunar surface. The LUVMI rover is an innovative, low mass, mobile robotic payload designed specifically for operations at the South Pole of the Moon with a range of several kilometers and will perform volatile prospecting for potential lunar resources. This study presents the LUVMI volatiles sampler (VS) and volatiles analyser (VA) that have been developed and validated up to technology readiness level (TRL) 5-6 to address the question of in-situ volatile extraction and characterization.

Growing efforts are currently being addressed by ESA to support the next-generation of space professionals and researchers. ESA’s Education Office is successfully creating a network of individuals sharing and promoting dedication to space technology on the basis of the values of trust and cooperation. In this framework, students and early-career researchers can rely on experienced tutors and professionals to improve their area of expertise effectively.This paper provides a detailed insight of the utterly positive return on the careers of who had first-hand experience of ESA’s Academy activities, both through training courses and hands-on projects (as REXUS/BEXUS program). The authors have contributed in many different and unexpected ways to the advancement of their fields of study and/or work. Accordingly, the outcome of this paper is a vivid and varied patchwork of people from various professional backgrounds reflecting on their experience and thus depicting the actual situation of the young European generation in the space sector.What links the authors of this paper together is their participation in the five-day didactic training course “Concurrent Engineering Workshop” held in May 2018 at ESA ESEC facility. During the workshop, the students worked as a team to develop a mission architecture for a satellite impacting the Moon surface, surviving and deploying a scientific rover: LIAR mission (Lunar Impactor And Rover). The concurrent design study offered a realistic environment to work within, amidst different scientific backgrounds and expertise, thus leading to a challenging and rewarding learning opportunity. This paper will also discuss the Concurrent Engineering development cycle, by giving an overview of main carried out activities to present the most important lessons learned.During their involvement in ESA’s educational programs,the participants had been given a precious perspective on the tools and strategies behind ESA’s space missions. One year later, the participants are still in contact and committed to fruitful collaboration aimed, among other things, at creating a space start-up. The example highlights that educational support constantly proves to be the key to a successful and prolific future of space sector by encouraging and technically challenging passionate students.

Multiple remote observations have indicated the existence of ice deposits in permanently shadowed regions (PSRs) near the lunar poles, nurturing hopes of possible future resource exploitation. However, the interpretation of the orbital data remains ambiguous and ground truth data is necessary for validation. The Lunar Volatiles Scout (LVS) is an integrated instrument for regolith sampling, gas extraction, and analysis that enables mobile prospecting for lunar volatiles, such as loosely adsorbed water and subsurface ice up to a depth of 10 ​cm. This study presents results of breadboarding activities using an integrated prototype of the LVS instrument to investigate soil insertion and to demonstrate gas extraction and analysis in thermal vacuum. The required vertical force for LVS insertion into dry and ice-bearing regolith was determined to be less than 15 ​N and sample-to-sample cross-contamination was found to be negligible. Thermal-vacuum test results proved the successful extraction of water from a hydrated lunar regolith simulant and detection of species across a mass to charge ratio m/z range of 15–200.