Jump to content
Join the Alien Search, login or register FREE on Aliens and Space Forum
Members Can Post Anonymously On This Site

Deploying and Demonstrating Navigation Aids on the Lunar Surface

NASA

By NASA
in NASA

 Share

Recommended Posts

  • Publishers
NASA Mentor

NASA

Posted
  • Publishers
Posted
5 Min Read

Deploying and Demonstrating Navigation Aids on the Lunar Surface

ln-1-1.jpg?w=1175
–

PROJECT

Lunar Node-1 (LN-1)

SNAPSHOT

NASA is developing lunar navigation beacons to be deployed on spacecraft or the lunar surface to aid in localization and help future space vehicles determine position, velocity, and time to high accuracy.

ln-1-1.jpg?w=1175
The Lunar Node-1 payload in the test chamber at the Deep Space Network’s  Development and Test Facility (DTF)-21 radio frequency (RF) compatibility testing lab. The large block seen in the image is the antenna hat used to collect RF energy for ground testing and integration.

“Are we there yet?” is a constant question on any journey. As humanity expands its presence on, near, and around the Moon, new systems are needed to provide navigation signals similar those provided by the Global Positioning System (GPS) on Earth. To enable this capability, NASA is supporting research on a range of sensors, architectures, and techniques for providing reference signals to help spacecraft and humans find their way.

Lunar Node 1 (LN-1) is an S-band navigation beacon for lunar applications that was recently designed and built at Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). As part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative, this beacon is scheduled to be delivered to the Moon’s surface on Intuitive Machine’s NOVA-C lunar lander on the IM-1 mission in early 2024.

Left: a closeup of a metallic cube topped by a metallic platform mounted to a flat white structure. Wires protrude from the mounted cube. Right: the same metallic cube and platform shown from a further viewpoint; the white structure they are mounted upon is covered with numerous wires.
The Lunar Node-1 flight payload installed on the Intuitive Machines NOVA-C lander for the IM-1 mission. The payload is mounted near the top deck of the vehicle to provide a clear field of view for its antenna back to Earth.
Image Credit: Intuitive Machines/Nick Rios

During this mission, LN-1’s goal will be to demonstrate navigation technologies that can support local surface and orbital operations around the Moon, enabling autonomy and decreasing dependence on heavily utilized Earth-based communication assets like NASA’s Deep Space Network demonstrate these capabilities, LN-1’s design leverages CubeSat components as well as the Multi-spacecraft Autonomous Positioning System (MAPS) algorithms, which enable autonomous spacecraft positioning using navigation measurements. In addition to demonstrating the MAPS algorithms, LN-1’s radio will also be used to conduct pseudo-noise (PN)-based, one-way, non-coherent ranging and Doppler tracking to provide alternate approaches and comparisons for navigation performance. To provide a real-time solution similar to GPS, but in the lunar environment, multiple references must be in view of users at the same time. As this future lunar communication network is deployed, LN-1 hardware and capabilities could be part of a much larger infrastructure.

Over the course of the transit to the Moon from Earth and during its the nominal lunar surface operations, LN-1 will broadcast its state and timing information back to Earth. Once it lands on the lunar surface, the payload will enter into a 24/7 operational period, and will also provide a navigation reference signal back to Earth.  To validate LN-1 capabilities, DSN ground stations will be used to capture measurements and measure performance. Upon reception of the LN-1 data, high-accuracy packet reception timestamps will be used (along with atmospheric data for induced delays) to assess a ranging observation. This data will be captured during multiple passes to compute a navigation state of the payload during the mission. The LN-1 team is also partnering with other NASA researchers to collect Very Long Baseline Interferometry observations of the navigation signals as an independent truth reference.

An image of the moon with a cartoon payload on the surface. Blue rectangles depicting the elements in the data paths are connected by black arrows labeled according to the type of data being transferred between elements.
Concept of Operations. This diagram shows the dual data paths being exercised by the LN-1 payload. The primary operational command and data handling is done through a hardwire connection between the payload and the host lander. Using its onboard transmitter, LN-1 will transmit its navigation signals independently, providing the lander’s current time and state information via both a reference one-way PN solution as well as the transmission of MAPS packets.

The compact size of the LN-1 payload can be seen in the LN-1 CAD models in the figures below. The primary LN-1 structure is approximately 175x220x300 cm in volume with a mass of approximately 2.8 kg. The dominating feature of the design is the large top surface, which is a radiator. The hot environment on the lunar surface, combined with the heat generated by the LN-1 radio while transmitting, require the LN-1 design to incorporate a radiator to dissipate heat during operation so that a clean interface with the host vehicle will be maintained. While the LN-1 payload is not designed to survive the lunar night, it uses a modular design that could be integrated into a variety of host vehicles; if adequate power generation/storage were provided, the design may be able to offer long-term operation at any lunar landing site.

Left: a gray platform with a triangular structure mounted atop a gray cube. One side of the cube is cut away to show wiring and circuitry inside the cube. Right: the same structure shown rotated to show the elements inside the cube from a different angle.
Interior views of LN-1. These images provide a look inside the payload showing the primary components: radiator hat, antenna mount adapter, SWIFT SL-X transmitter, FPGA-based controller board, and power conditioning electronics.
A laboratory containing several large tubes with protruding wires and tubes. The door to the tube in the center is open, showing the equipment inside the tube.
LN-1 successfully passed vibration, electromagnetic interference testing, and thermal vacuum testing at Marshall Space Flight Center in 2020 and 2021.

After completion and delivery of the LN-1 payload, testing with the planned operational ground stations began. This testing included RF compatibility testing between the DSN and the LN-1 payload as well as tests of the data flows between the DSN and MSFC’s Huntsville Operations Support Center. Performed at the DSN’s Development and Test Facility (DTF)-21 facility in early 2021, these tests successfully verified RF compatibility between DSN and the LN-1 payload. Specifically, the tests showed that the DSN can receive S-band telecommunication signals in all the planned operational modes required to process telemetry and ranging data from LN-1.

A man seated at a desk wearing a lab coat and mask, working on a computer.
LN-1 Principal Investigator, Evan Anzalone, performing RF Compatibility Testing at DTF-21. This testing was important to characterize the stability of the one-way ranging tone and demonstrate integration with the DSN ground network for flight operations. The LN-1 team is currently setting up the flight spare with a flight-matching radio and is preparing to conduct another round of testing to capture long-term stability data with ground receivers to demonstrate improved capability with improved clocks and signal generation algorithms.

In the future, this new technology and the MAPS algorithms demonstrated by LN-1 could enable autonomous navigation for lunar assets. As NASA invests in communication and navigation infrastructure around, near, and on the Moon, the LN-1 team continues to develop future iterations of the navigation beacon to support broad lunar surface coverage. The team is currently maturing the capabilities of the payload in preparation for continued laboratory assessments and field demonstrations using updated navigation signals as defined for LunaNet. Three key capabilities will be the focus of the development of a follow-on payload to LN-1:

  • Demonstration of inter-spacecraft navigation, providing support to operational vehicles in lunar orbit by acting as a fixed ground reference
  • The capability to survive the lunar night onboard the payload to demonstrate technologies needed for a long-term navigation beacon
  • Maturation of signal to match the Augmented Forward Signal standard as defined in the LunaNet Interoperability Specification for integration, operation, and compatibility with other planned NASA assets and infrastructure

PROJECT LEAD

Dr. Evan Anzalone and Tamara Statham, NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC)

SPONSORING ORGANIZATION

NASA-Provided Lunar Payloads Program

View the full article

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Similar Topics

    • NASA
      Characterizing the Visual Experience of Astronauts at the Lunar South Pole
      By NASA
      Humans are returning to the Moon—this time, to stay. Because our presence will be more permanent, NASA has selected a location that maximizes line-of-sight communication with Earth, solar visibility, and access to water ice: the Lunar South Pole (LSP). While the Sun is in the lunar sky more consistently at the poles, it never rises more than a few degrees above the horizon; in the target landing regions, the highest possible elevation is 7°. This presents a harsh lighting environment never experienced during the Apollo missions, or in fact, in any human spaceflight experience. The ambient lighting will severely affect the crews’ ability to see hazards and to perform simple work. This is because the human vision system, which despite having a high-dynamic range, cannot see well into bright light and cannot adapt quickly from bright to dark or vice versa. Functional vision is required to perform a variety of tasks, from simple tasks (e.g., walking, operating simple tools) through managing complex machines (e.g., lander elevator, rovers). Thus, the environment presents an engineering challenge to the Agency: one that must be widely understood before it can be effectively addressed.

       In past NASA missions and programs, design of lighting and functional vision support systems for extravehicular activity (EVA) or rover operations have been managed at the lowest program level. This worked well for Apollo and low Earth orbit because the Sun angle was managed by mission planning and astronaut self-positioning; helmet design alone addressed all vision challenges. The Artemis campaign presents new challenges to functional vision, because astronauts will be unable to avoid having the sun in their eyes much of the time they are on the lunar surface. This, combined with the need for artificial lighting in the extensive shadowing at the LSP, means that new functional vision support systems must be developed across projects and programs. The design of helmets, windows, and lighting systems must work in a complementary fashion, within and across programs, to achieve a system of lighting and vision support that enables crews to see into darkness while their eyes are light-adapted, in bright light while still dark-adapted, and protects their eyes from injury.
      Many of the findings of the assessment were focused on the lack of specific requirements to prevent functional vision impairment by the Sun’s brilliance (which is different from preventing eye injury), while enabling astronauts to see well enough to perform specific tasks. Specifically, tasks expected of astronauts at the LSP were not incorporated into system design requirements to enable system development that ensures functional vision in the expected lighting environment. Consequently, the spacesuit, for example, has flexibility requirements for allowing the astronauts to walk but not for ensuring they can see well enough to walk from brilliant Sun into a dark shadow and back without the risk of tripping or falling. Importantly, gaps were identified in allocation of requirements across programs to ensure that the role of the various programs is for each to understand functional vision. NESC recommendations were offered that made enabling functional vision in the harsh lighting environment a specific and new requirement for the system designers. The recommendations also included that lighting, window, and visor designs be integrated.
      The assessment team recommended that a wide variety of simulation techniques, physical and virtual, need to be developed, each with different and well-stated capabilities with respect to functional vision. Some would address the blinding effects of sunlight at the LSP (not easily achieved through virtual approaches) to evaluate performance of helmet shields and artificial lighting in the context of the environment and adaptation times. Other simulations would add terrain features to identify the threats in simple (e.g., walking, collection of samples) and complex (e.g., maintenance and operation of equipment) tasks. Since different facilities have different strengths, they also have different weaknesses. These strengths and limitations must be characterized to enable verification of technical solutions and crew training.
      NESC TB 2024- discipline-focus-hfView the full article
    • NASA
      NASA Science Payload to Study Sticky Lunar Dust Challenge
      By NASA
      3 min read
      Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
      Regolith Adherence Characterization, or RAC, is one of 10 science and technology instruments flying on NASA’s next Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) flight as part of the Blue Ghost Misison-1. Developed by Aegis Aerospace of Webster, Texas, RAC is designed to study how lunar dust reacts to more than a dozen different types of material samples, located on the payload’s wheels. Photo courtesy Firefly Aerospace The Moon may look like barren rock, but it’s actually covered in a layer of gravel, pebbles, and dust collectively known as “lunar regolith.” During the Apollo Moon missions, astronauts learned firsthand that the fine, powdery dust – electromagnetically charged due to constant bombardment by solar and cosmic particles – is extremely abrasive and clings to everything: gloves, boots, vehicles, and mechanical equipment. What challenges does that dust pose to future Artemis-era missions to establish long-term outposts on the lunar surface?
      That’s the task of an innovative science instrument called RAC-1 (Regolith Adherence Characterization), one of 10 NASA payloads flying aboard the next delivery for the agency’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative and set to be carried to the surface by Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost 1 lunar lander.
      Developed by Aegis Aerospace of Webster, Texas, RAC will expose 15 sample materials – fabrics, paint coatings, optical systems, sensors, solar cells, and more – to the lunar environment to determine how tenaciously the lunar dust sticks to each one. The instrument will measure accumulation rates during landing and subsequent routine lander operations, aiding identification of those materials which best repel or shed dust. The data will help NASA and its industry partners more effectively test, upgrade, and protect spacecraft, spacesuits, habitats, and equipment in preparation for continued exploration of the Moon under the Artemis campaign.
      “Lunar regolith is a sticky challenge for long-duration expeditions to the surface,” said Dennis Harris, who manages the RAC payload for NASA’s CLPS initiative at the agency’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. “Dust gets into gears, sticks to spacesuits, and can block optical properties. RAC will help determine the best materials and fabrics with which to build, delivering more robust, durable hardware, products, and equipment.”
      Under the CLPS model, NASA is investing in commercial delivery services to the Moon to enable industry growth and support long-term lunar exploration. As a primary customer for CLPS deliveries, NASA aims to be one of many customers on future flights. NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, manages the development of seven of the 10 CLPS payloads carried on Firefly’s Blue Ghost lunar lander.
      Learn more about. CLPS and Artemis at:
      https://www.nasa.gov/clps
      Alise Fisher
      Headquarters, Washington
      202-358-2546
      Alise.m.fisher@nasa.gov
      Headquarters, Washington
      202-358-2546
      Alise.m.fisher@nasa.gov
      Corinne Beckinger 
      Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala. 
      256-544-0034  
      corinne.m.beckinger@nasa.gov 
      Share
      Details
      Last Updated Dec 20, 2024 EditorBeth RidgewayContactCorinne M. Beckingercorinne.m.beckinger@nasa.govLocationMarshall Space Flight Center Related Terms
      Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) Artemis Marshall Space Flight Center Explore More
      3 min read NASA Payload Aims to Probe Moon’s Depths to Study Heat Flow
      Article 2 days ago 4 min read NASA Technology Helps Guard Against Lunar Dust
      Article 8 months ago 4 min read NASA Collects First Surface Science in Decades via Commercial Moon Mission
      Article 10 months ago Keep Exploring Discover Related Topics
      Missions
      Humans in Space
      Climate Change
      Solar System
      View the full article
    • NASA
      NASA Cameras to Capture Interaction Between Blue Ghost, Moon’s Surface
      By NASA
      4 min read
      Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
      The six SCALPSS cameras mounted around the base of Blue Ghost will collect imagery during and after descent and touchdown. Using a technique called stereo photogrammetry, researchers at Langley will use the overlapping images to produce a 3D view of the surface. Image courtesy of Firefly. Say cheese again, Moon. We’re coming in for another close-up.
      For the second time in less than a year, a NASA technology designed to collect data on the interaction between a Moon lander’s rocket plume and the lunar surface is set to make the long journey to Earth’s nearest celestial neighbor for the benefit of humanity.
      Developed at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, Stereo Cameras for Lunar Plume-Surface Studies (SCALPSS) is an array of cameras placed around the base of a lunar lander to collect imagery during and after descent and touchdown. Using a technique called stereo photogrammetry, researchers at Langley will use the overlapping images from the version of SCALPSS on Firefly’s Blue Ghost — SCALPSS 1.1 — to produce a 3D view of the surface. An earlier version, SCALPSS 1.0, was on Intuitive Machines’ Odysseus spacecraft that landed on the Moon last February. Due to mission contingencies that arose during the landing, SCALPSS 1.0 was unable to collect imagery of the plume-surface interaction. The team was, however, able to operate the payload in transit and on the lunar surface following landing, which gives them confidence in the hardware for 1.1.
      The SCALPSS 1.1 payload has two additional cameras — six total, compared to the four on SCALPSS 1.0 — and will begin taking images at a higher altitude, prior to the expected onset of plume-surface interaction, to provide a more accurate before-and-after comparison.
      These images of the Moon’s surface won’t just be a technological novelty. As trips to the Moon increase and the number of payloads touching down in proximity to one another grows, scientists and engineers need to be able to accurately predict the effects of landings.
      How much will the surface change? As a lander comes down, what happens to the lunar soil, or regolith, it ejects? With limited data collected during descent and landing to date, SCALPSS will be the first dedicated instrument to measure the effects of plume-surface interaction on the Moon in real time and help to answer these questions.
      “If we’re placing things – landers, habitats, etc. – near each other, we could be sand blasting what’s next to us, so that’s going to drive requirements on protecting those other assets on the surface, which could add mass, and that mass ripples through the architecture,” said Michelle Munk, principal investigator for SCALPSS and acting chief architect for NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “It’s all part of an integrated engineering problem.”
      Under the Artemis campaign, the agency’s current lunar exploration approach, NASA is collaborating with commercial and international partners to establish the first long-term presence on the Moon. On this CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative delivery carrying over 200 pounds of NASA science experiments and technology demonstrations, SCALPSS 1.1 will begin capturing imagery from before the time the lander’s plume begins interacting with the surface until after the landing is complete.
      The final images will be gathered on a small onboard data storage unit before being sent to the lander for downlink back to Earth. The team will likely need at least a couple of months to
      process the images, verify the data, and generate the 3D digital elevation maps of the surface. The expected lander-induced erosion they reveal probably won’t be very deep — not this time, anyway.
      One of the SCALPSS cameras is visible here mounted to the Blue Ghost lander.Image courtesy of Firefly. “Even if you look at the old Apollo images — and the Apollo crewed landers were larger than these new robotic landers — you have to look really closely to see where the erosion took place,” said Rob Maddock, SCALPSS project manager at Langley. “We’re anticipating something on the order of centimeters deep — maybe an inch. It really depends on the landing site and how deep the regolith is and where the bedrock is.”
      But this is a chance for researchers to see how well SCALPSS will work as the U.S. advances human landing systems as part of NASA’s plans to explore more of the lunar surface.
      “Those are going to be much larger than even Apollo. Those are large engines, and they could conceivably dig some good-sized holes,” said Maddock. “So that’s what we’re doing. We’re collecting data we can use to validate the models that are predicting what will happen.”
      The SCALPSS 1.1 project is funded by the Space Technology Mission Directorate’s Game Changing Development Program.
      NASA is working with several American companies to deliver science and technology to the lunar surface under the CLPS initiative. Through this opportunity, various companies from a select group of vendors bid on delivering payloads for NASA including everything from payload integration and operations, to launching from Earth and landing on the surface of the Moon.

      Share
      Details
      Last Updated Dec 19, 2024 EditorAngelique HerringLocationNASA Langley Research Center Related Terms
      General Explore More
      4 min read Statistical Analysis Using Random Forest Algorithm Provides Key Insights into Parachute Energy Modulator System
      Article 6 hours ago 1 min read Program Manager at NASA Glenn Earns AIAA Sustained Service Award 
      Article 8 hours ago 2 min read An Evening With the Stars: 10 Years and Counting 
      Article 8 hours ago Keep Exploring Discover Related Topics
      Missions
      Humans in Space
      Climate Change
      Solar System
      View the full article
    • Space Force
      USSF field commands successfully launch GPS III, demonstrating expedited launch capabilities
      By Space Force
      The mission successfully achieved a complex effort across multiple Space Force organizations to pull an existing GPS III satellite from storage, accelerate integration and launch vehicle readiness, and rapidly process for launch.

      View the full article
    • NASA
      Lunar Autonomy Challenge: Selected Teams
      By NASA
      Congratulations to the selected teams and their schools who will participate in the Lunar Autonomy Challenge! 31 teams were selected for the qualifying round, engaging 229 students from colleges and universities in 15 states. Teams will now move on to a Qualifying Round where they will virtually explore and map the lunar surface using a digital twin of NASA’s lunar mobility robot, the ISRU Pilot Excavator (IPEx). Teams will develop software that can perform set actions without human intervention, navigating the digital IPEx in the harsh, low-light conditions of the Moon. The Qualifying Round will extend to February 28, when the top-scoring teams will proceed to the Final Round, with the winners announced in May 2025.

      The Lunar Autonomy Challenge is a collaboration between NASA, The Johns Hopkins University (JHU) Applied Physics Laboratory (APL), Caterpillar Inc., and Embodied AI. ​
      Learn more: https://lunar-autonomy-challenge.jhuapl.edu/ ​
      SchoolCityStateAmerican Public University SystemCharles TownWest VirginiaArizona State UniversityTempeArizonaCalifornia Polytechnic Institute, Pomona (1)PomonaCaliforniaCalifornia Polytechnic Institute, Pomona (2)PomonaCaliforniaCarnegie Mellon UniversityPittsburghPennsylvaniaEmbry Riddle Aeronautical UniversityDaytona BeachFloridaEssex County CollegeNewarkNew JerseyGeorgia Institute of Technology & Arizona State UniversityAtlanta & TempeGeorgia & ArizonaHarvard UniversityAllstonMassachusettsJohns Hopkins University Whiting School of EngineeringBaltimoreMarylandMassachusetts Institute of TechnologyCambridgeMassachusettsNew York University Tandon School of EngineeringBrooklynNew YorkNorth Carolina State UniversityRaleighNorth CarolinaPenn State (1)University ParkPennsylvaniaPenn State (2)University ParkPennsylvaniaPurdue UniversityWest LafayetteIndianaRochester Institute of TechnologyRochester New YorkRose Hulman Institue of TechnologyTerre HauteIndianaStanford UniversityStanfordCalifornia Texas A&M UniversityCollege StationTexasUniversity of AlabamaTuscaloosaAlabamaUniversity of Buffalo, State University of New YorkBuffaloNew YorkUniversity of California, StanislausTurlockCaliforniaUniversity of Illinois Urbana Champaign (1)UrbanaIllinoisUniversity of Illinois Urbana Champaign (2)UrbanaIllinoisUniversity of MarylandCollege ParkMarylandUniversity of Pennsylvania (1)Philadelphia PennsylvaniaUniversity of Pennsylvania (2)Philadelphia PennsylvaniaUniversity of Southern California & Stanford UniversityLos Angeles & StanfordCaliforniaWest Virginia UniversityMorgantownWest VirginiaWorcester Polytechnic InstituteWorcesterMassachusetts Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA
      Space Technology Mission Directorate
      NASA’s Lunar Surface Innovation Initiative
      ISRU Pilot Excavator
      Education & Opportunities
      We are committed to providing educational opportunities for students interested in pursuing professional experiences in the life science disciplines. Our…
      View the full article

  • Check out these Videos

×
×
  • Create New...