When humans start living and working on the Moon on the Artemis missions, they’re going to need good navigational aids. Of course, they will have the equivalent of a GPS to help them find their way. And there will be LunaNet, the Internet equivalent of the Moon. But, there are places on the Moon that are quite remote. In such cases, browsers might require more than one method of communication and navigation. This prompted NASA Goddard research engineer Alvin Yew to create an AI-powered local mapping service. Use local landmarks for navigation.
The idea is to use surface data already gathered from astronaut photographs and mapping missions to provide overlaid navigation aids. “For safety and science geotagging, it’s important for explorers to know exactly where they are as they explore the lunar landscape,” said Alvin Yew, a research engineer at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. “Equipping an onboard device with a local map would support any mission, be it robotic or human.”
Having a map-based system as a backup would make life much easier for crater explorers, for example, Yew said. “The motivation for me was to enable exploration of the lunar crater, where the entire horizon would be the rim of the crater.”
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The collection of ridges, craters and boulders that make up a lunar horizon can be used by artificial intelligence to precisely locate a lunar traveler. A system developed by research engineer Alvin Yew would provide a safe location service for future explorers, robotic or human. Credits: NASA/MoonTrek/Alvin Yew
Use of lunar mapping data to aid navigation
The heart of Yew’s system is data from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. This spacecraft is mapping the surface of the Moon in as much detail as possible and performing other lunar science and exploration tasks. The Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter (LOLA) on board has provided high-resolution topographic maps of the Moon.
Yew fed data from LOLA into an AI program that uses digital elevation models to recreate features on the lunar horizon. It makes them look like they would look to an explorer on the lunar surface. The result is a series of digital panoramas. The AI can correlate them with known surface objects, such as large boulders or ridges. The goal is to provide accurate location identification for any given area.
“Conceptually, it’s like going outside and trying to figure out where you are by examining the horizon and the landmarks around it,” Yew said. “While an estimate of the location of the stadium may be easy for one person, we want to demonstrate accuracy on the ground down to less than 30 feet (9 meters). This accuracy opens the door to a wide range of concepts for mission for future explorations.”
Yew’s geolocation system also has its roots in the capabilities of GIANT (Goddard Image Analysis and Navigation Tool), developed by Goddard engineer Andrew Liounis. Scientists used GIANT to check and verify navigation data for NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission. This spacecraft went to the asteroid Bennu to collect a sample for analysis here on Earth.
Maps of the Moon on your device
A time may soon come when a lunar explorer will head out to study various features of the surface. They will be equipped with cameras and communication equipment. This is similar to Earth geologists heading into the field with a DSLR and a cell phone with GPS and satellite access. They can find their way by noting down landmarks, but it’s always helpful to have backup methods. Of course, here on Earth, we have multiple communication networks.
Conceptual LunaNet graphic for a possible communication and navigation device used on the Moon. Credits: NASA/Reese Patillo
On the Moon, this infrastructure is not in place. But, it should be there when the Artemis mission is underway. Still, it won’t be long before these lunar geologists are “in the field.” Plus, they’ll need all the help they can get to do their job. According to a study published by Goddard researcher Erwan Mazarico, a lunar surface explorer can see up to about 180 miles (300 kilometers) from anywhere on the Moon unobstructed. This makes long-term surface studies over large areas somewhat more difficult. Ideally, a surface explorer could use the “app” Yew is developing on a handheld device. Like a portable GPS unit, a lunar guidance device would help astronauts in regions that don’t have the greatest line of sight. Onboard terrain datasets that include elevation data would be part of its software.
Yew’s geolocation system has some likely applications beyond the Moon. Even on Earth, tracking technology like Yew’s will help explorers in terrain where GPS signals are obstructed or subject to interference. This use of AI-interpreted visual data against known models of the lunar surface could provide a new generation of navigation tools not just for Earth and the Moon, but even for Mars.
For more information
NASA Develops AI to Guide Using Landmarks: On the Moon Lunar Reconnaissance OrbiterLunaNet: Empowering Artemis with Communications and Navigation Interoperability
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