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By NASA
5 Min Read NASA and Italian Space Agency Test Future Lunar Navigation Technology
The potentially record-breaking Lunar GNSS Receiver Experiment (LuGRE) payload will be the first known demonstration of GNSS signal reception on and around the lunar surface. Credits: NASA/Dave Ryan As NASA celebrates 55 years since the historic Apollo 11 crewed lunar landing, the agency also is preparing new navigation and positioning technology for the Artemis campaign, the agency’s modern lunar exploration program.
A technology demonstration helping pave the way for these developments is the Lunar GNSS Receiver Experiment (LuGRE) payload, a joint effort between NASA and the Italian Space Agency to demonstrate the viability of using existing GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) signals for positioning, navigation, and timing on the Moon.
During its voyage on an upcoming delivery to the Moon as part of NASA’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative, LuGRE would demonstrate acquiring and tracking signals from both the U.S. GPS and European Union Galileo GNSS constellations during transit to the Moon, during lunar orbit, and finally for up to two weeks on the lunar surface itself.
The Lunar GNSS Receiver Experiment (LuGRE) will investigate whether signals from two Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) constellations, the U.S. Global Positioning System (GPS) and European Union’s Galileo, can be tracked at the Moon and used for positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT). The LuGRE payload is one of the first demonstrations of GNSS signal reception and navigation on and around the lunar surface, an important milestone for how lunar missions will access navigation and positioning technology. If successful, LuGRE would demonstrate that spacecraft can use signals from existing GNSS satellites at lunar distances, reducing their reliance on ground-based stations on the Earth for lunar navigation.
Today, GNSS constellations support essential services like navigation, banking, power grid synchronization, cellular networks, and telecommunications. Near-Earth space missions use these signals in flight to determine critical operational information like location, velocity, and time.
NASA and the Italian Space Agency want to expand the boundaries of GNSS use cases. In 2019, the Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission broke the world record for farthest GPS signal acquisition 116,300 miles from the Earth’s surface — nearly half of the 238,900 miles between Earth and the Moon. Now, LuGRE could double that distance.
“GPS makes our lives safer and more viable here on Earth,” said Kevin Coggins, NASA deputy associate administrator and SCaN (Space Communications and Navigation) Program manager at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “As we seek to extend humanity beyond our home planet, LuGRE should confirm that this extraordinary technology can do the same for us on the Moon.”
NASA, Firefly, Qascom, and Italian Space Agency team members examine LuGRE hardware in a clean room.Firefly Aerospace Reliable space communication and navigation systems play a vital role in all NASA missions, providing crucial connections from space to Earth for crewed and uncrewed missions alike. Using a blend of government and commercial assets, NASA’s Near Space and Deep Space Networks support science, technology demonstrations, and human spaceflight missions across the solar system.
“This mission is more than a technological milestone,” said Joel Parker, policy lead for positioning, navigation, and timing at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. “We want to enable more and better missions to the Moon for the benefit of everyone, and we want to do it together with our international partners.”
This mission is more than a technological milestone. We want to enable more and better missions to the Moon for the benefit of everyone…
JOEL PARKER
PNT Policy Lead at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
The data-gathering LuGRE payload combines NASA-led systems engineering and mission management with receiver software and hardware developed by the Italian Space Agency and their industry partner Qascom — the first Italian-built hardware to operate on the lunar surface.
Any data LuGRE collects is intended to open the door for use of GNSS to all lunar missions, not just those by NASA or the Italian Space Agency. Approximately six months after LuGRE completes its operations, the agencies will release its mission data to broaden public and commercial access to lunar GNSS research.
Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost Mission One lander is carrying 10 NASA science and technology instruments to the Moon as part of NASA’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative and Artemis campaign.Firefly Aerospace “A project like LuGRE isn’t about NASA alone,” said NASA Goddard navigation and mission design engineer Lauren Konitzer. “It’s something we’re doing for the benefit of humanity. We’re working to prove that lunar GNSS can work, and we’re sharing our discoveries with the world.”
The LuGRE payload is one of 10 NASA-funded science experiments launching to the lunar surface on this delivery through NASA’s CLPS initiative. Through CLPS, NASA works with American companies to provide delivery and quantity contracts for commercial deliveries to further lunar exploration and the development of a sustainable lunar economy. As of 2024, the agency has 14 private partners on contract for current and future CLPS missions.
Demonstrations like LuGRE could lay the groundwork for GNSS-based navigation systems on the lunar surface. Bridging these existing systems with emerging lunar-specific navigation solutions has the potential to define how all spacecraft navigate lunar terrain in the Artemis era.
Artist’s concept rendering of LuGRE aboard the Blue Ghost lunar lander receiving signals from Earth’s GNSS constellations.NASA/Dave Ryan The payload is a collaborative effort between NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center and the Italian Space Agency. Funding and oversight for the LuGRE payload comes from the agency’s SCaN Program office. It was chosen by NASA as one of 10 funded research and technology demonstrations for delivery to the lunar surface by Firefly Aerospace Inc, a flight under the agency’s CLPS initiative.
About the Author
Korine Powers
Senior Writer and Education LeadKorine Powers, Ph.D. is a writer for NASA's Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) program office and covers emerging technologies, commercialization efforts, education and outreach, exploration activities, and more.
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Last Updated Jan 09, 2025 EditorGoddard Digital TeamContactKorine Powerskorine.powers@nasa.govLocationNASA Goddard Space Flight Center Related Terms
Goddard Space Flight Center Artemis Blue Ghost (lander) Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) Communicating and Navigating with Missions Earth's Moon Near Space Network Space Communications & Navigation Program View the full article
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By NASA
3 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
The Radiation Tolerant Computer, or RadPC, payload undergoes final checkout at Montana State University in Bozeman, which leads the payload project. RadPC is one of 10 NASA payloads set to fly aboard the next delivery for NASA’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative in 2025. RadPC prototypes previously were tested aboard the International Space Station and Earth-orbiting satellites, but the technology demonstrator will undergo its biggest trial in transit to the Moon – passing through the Earth’s Van Allen radiation belts – and during its roughly two-week mission on the lunar surface. Photo courtesy Firefly Aerospace Onboard computers are critical to space exploration, aiding nearly every spacecraft function from propulsion and navigation systems to life support technology, science data retrieval and analysis, communications, and reentry.
But computers in space are susceptible to ionizing solar and cosmic radiation. Just one high-energy particle can trigger a so-called “single event effect,” causing minor data errors that lead to cascading malfunctions, system crashes, and permanent damage. NASA has long sought cost-effective solutions to mitigate radiation effects on computers to ensure mission safety and success.
Enter the Radiation Tolerant Computer (RadPC) technology demonstration, one of 10 NASA payloads set to fly aboard the next lunar delivery for the agency’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative. RadPC will be carried to the Moon’s surface by Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost 1 lunar lander.
Developed by researchers at Montana State University in Bozeman, RadPC aims to demonstrate computer recovery from faults caused by single event effects of ionizing radiation. The computer is designed to gauge its own real-time state of health by employing redundant processors implemented on off-the-shelf integrated circuits called field programmable gate arrays. These tile-like logic blocks are capable of being easily replaced following a confirmed ionizing particle strike. In the event of a radiation strike, RadPC’s patented recovery procedures can identify the location of the fault and repair the issue in the background.
As an added science benefit, RadPC carries three dosimeters to measure varying levels of radiation in the lunar environment with each tuned to different sensitivity levels. These dosimeters will continuously measure the interaction between Earth’s magnetosphere and the solar wind during its journey to the Moon. It will also provide detailed radiation information about Blue Ghost’s lunar landing site at Mare Crisium, which could help to safeguard future Artemis astronauts.
“This is RadPC’s first mission out into the wild, so to speak,” said Dennis Harris, who manages the payload for the CLPS initiative at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. “The RadPC CLPS payload is an exciting opportunity to verify a radiation-tolerant computer option that could make future Moon to Mars missions safer and more cost-effective.”
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. Marshall manages the development of seven of the 10 CLPS payloads carried on Firefly’s Blue Ghost lunar lander.
T
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
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Last Updated Jan 08, 2025 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
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By NASA
3 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
Lunar Planet Vac, or LPV, is one of 10 payloads set to be carried to the Moon by the Blue Ghost 1 lunar lander in 2025. LPV is designed to efficiently collect and transfer lunar soil from the surface to other science and analysis instruments on the Moon.Photo courtesy Firefly Aerospace Among all the challenges of voyaging to and successfully landing on other worlds, the effective collection and study of soil and rock samples cannot be underestimated.
To quickly and thoroughly collect and analyze samples during next-generation Artemis Moon missions and future journeys to Mars and other planetary bodies, NASA seeks a paradigm shift in techniques that will more cost-effectively obtain samples, conduct in situ testing with or without astronaut oversight, and permit real-time sample data return to researchers on Earth.
That’s the planned task of an innovative technology demonstration called Lunar PlanetVac (LPV), one of 10 NASA payloads flying aboard the next lunar delivery for the agency’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative. LPV will be carried to the surface by Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost 1 lunar lander.
Developed by Honeybee Robotics, a Blue Origin company of Altadena, California, LPV is a pneumatic, compressed gas-powered sample acquisition and delivery system – essentially, a vacuum cleaner that brings its own gas. It’s designed to efficiently collect and transfer lunar soil from the surface to other science instruments or sample return containers without reliance on gravity. Secured to the Blue Ghost lunar lander, LPV’s sampling head will use pressurized gas to stir up the lunar regolith, or soil, creating a small tornado. If successful, material from the dust cloud it creates then will be funneled into a transfer tube via the payload’s secondary pneumatic jets and collected in a sample container. The entire autonomous operation is expected to take just seconds and maintains planetary protection protocols. Collected regolith – including particles up to 1 cm in size, or roughly 0.4 inches – will be sieved and photographed inside the sample container with the findings transmitted back to Earth in real time.
The innovative approach to sample collection and in situ testing could prove to be a game-changer, said Dennis Harris, who manages the LPV payload for the CLPS initiative at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.
“There’s no digging, no mechanical arm to wear out requiring servicing or replacement – it functions like a vacuum cleaner,” Harris said. “The technology on this CLPS payload could benefit the search for water, helium, and other resources and provide a clearer picture of in situ materials available to NASA and its partners for fabricating lunar habitats and launch pads, expanding scientific knowledge and the practical exploration of the solar system every step of the way.”
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
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Last Updated Jan 08, 2025 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
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By NASA
NASA White Sands Test Facility
Las Cruces, New Mexico
Soil Remediation at the 600 Area Off-Site Pile
Origins of the 600 Area Off-Site Pile
The NASA White Sands Test Facility (WSTF) is crucial for supporting space exploration and technology development. Located in New Mexico, it provides a controlled environment for testing and evaluating spacecraft, propulsion systems, and other aerospace technologies. The facility is instrumental in conducting critical tests such as engine firings, thermal and environmental testing, and materials research. Its role in ensuring the safety, reliability, and performance of spacecraft and systems makes it a key asset in NASA’s mission to explore space and advance scientific knowledge. Unfortunately, past practices associated with the execution of its mission adversely impacted soil and groundwater resources.
From June 1974 to December 1979, sludge and soil removed from a domestic and industrial wastewater lagoon was stockpiled on Bureau of Land Management land west of the NASA White Sands Test Facility (WSTF) facility boundary, less than a mile from the lagoon. When accumulation of material ceased, the sludge/soil debris pile lay dormant with no boundary identification. In 1993, during a Resource Conservation and Recovery Act field investigation the debris pile was identified and reported to the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) and designated as Solid Waste Management Unit (SWMU) 16.
Investigation Summary
Initial investigations were completed at SWMU 16 in 2015 and 2018 to characterize the stockpiled sludge/soil and native soils beneath the stockpile to a depth of 30 feet. Analysis of soil sample data indicated the contaminants in the pile posed a risk to human health and the environment due to identified concentrations of nitrates, metals, volatile and semi-volatile organics, pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls, and dioxins and furans. The NMED agreed to the removal and off-site disposal of New Mexico Special Waste in 2021.
Removal, Disposal, Confirmation Sampling
Excavation of the stockpile and the upper 6 inches of native soil was completed in January 2024. Excavation of native soils extended approximately 10 ft beyond the extent of the pile. A total of 1,072.7 tons of sludge and soil were disposed at the Corralitos Landfill. In February 2024, confirmatory soil samples were collected from 38 locations on a 30-foot grid established across SWMU 16, encompassing the location of the removed stockpile and all areas potentially affected by site operations. These samples were submitted for laboratory chemical analyses to determine if NASA had met is remedial objectives and eliminated the exposure risk to human health and the environment.
Risk Assessment
The results showed that NASA had succeeded. The site was restored. Results of soil sample analyses did not identify site contaminants remain at the site, and a risk assessment did not identify elevated risk to receptors or to groundwater beneath the site. NASA concluded that site contaminants have been removed, the risk to human health and the environment are below regulatory targets. NASA recommended a change in site status from “Requiring Corrective Action” to “Corrective Action Complete without Controls”. The report of results is currently under review by the NMED.
Visit nasa.gov/emd to learn more about NASA’s Environmental Management Division (EMD)!
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