LISE Airlock
Spartan Space
Deployable lunar surface airlock with hybrid rigid-inflatable architecture for the LISE habitat, enabling safe EVA crew ingress/egress with integrated dust mitigation, thermal control, and a crew rescue lifting system.
Technical specifications
- Architecture
- Hybrid rigid + deployable (inflatable) structure
- Application
- EVA crew ingress/egress at lunar surface
- Host habitat
- LISE (Lunar Integrated Shelter for Exploration) atop a robotic lander
- Dust mitigation
- Validated strategies integrated into design
- Crew rescue capability
- Dedicated lifting system for incapacitated crew recovery
- Thermal analysis partner
- Airbus Defence and Space (full lunar day/night range)
- Test facility
- DLR-ESA LUNA Analog Facility, Cologne (full-scale prototype)
- Feasibility study duration
- 15 months
- Feasibility completion
- July 2025
- Customer
- CNES (Spaceship France)
- Industrial partner
- Airbus Defence and Space
- Next phase
- Fully qualified flight hardware
About
The LISE Airlock is an advanced deployable lunar surface airlock developed by Spartan Space in collaboration with Airbus Defence and Space, commissioned by CNES under the Spaceship France programme. After a fifteen-month feasibility study, a full-scale prototype was integrated into the EUROHAB Lunar Base Camp and tested at the DLR-ESA LUNA Analog Facility in Cologne using the ATLAS spacesuit simulator.
The airlock features a hybrid architecture combining rigid structural elements with deployable (inflatable) sections, enabling compact packaged volume for lander delivery while providing adequate pressurised volume for EVA transition. It addresses four key lunar challenges: dust mitigation (validated strategies prevent regolith contamination), crew safety (engineered for EVA suit mobility), thermal control (validated across the full lunar day/night temperature range), and spatial efficiency. A dedicated crew rescue lifting system allows recovery of an incapacitated astronaut from the lunar surface — a design unique to this system. Prototype phase complete; Spartan Space and Airbus D&S are progressing to fully qualified flight hardware.
Documentation
- 2025-07-24-LISE-AIRLOCK-Press-Release.pdf spartan-space.com ↗
- 2024-02-15-Press-Release-LISE-final-EN.pdf spartan-space.com ↗
Need the full ICD, test reports or a specific revision? Ask the supplier directly.
