NASA Demonstrates Autonomous Navigation Technology for Lunar and Planetary Landings

NASA News Releases states that NASA successfully demonstrated technology intended to assist spacecraft in autonomously navigating to secure landing zones on the Moon and other celestial bodies. An Alta-X drone, which was fitted with the agency's Safe and Precise Landing – Integrated Capabilities Evolution (SPLICE) guidance, navigation, and control payload, completed simulated lunar descent and landing procedures on August 27 at Rogers Dry Lake near NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California.

During these tests, the SPLICE payload utilized an advanced guidance system to survey the terrain and evaluate potential landing zones. The system is capable of redirecting the drone to a safer location if it determines that a targeted landing area is unsafe. Furthermore, the system generates high-resolution digital elevation maps using data gathered from light-detection and sensor inputs.

Researchers at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston created the SPLICE payload and collaborated with specialists at NASA Armstrong to integrate, test, and fly it on the Alta-X drone during June and July. These prior tests confirmed the performance of communications, data handling, telemetry, and command-control between the SPLICE payload and the drone, preparing for a larger test scheduled at Voyager Technologies in Mojave, California, later this month.

NASA project manager Davis Adams commented that this flight test represents the culmination of nearly a decade of effort for the SPLICE project. Adams added that this flight advanced the technology readiness level, making it ready for incorporation into future robotic and crewed lunar missions, and that the validation of the guidance and navigation systems is applicable to descent and landing missions on terrestrial, lunar, and Martian surfaces.

NASA has engaged with several commercial lunar lander providers to incorporate versions of SPLICE into their platforms. Landers designated for forthcoming Moon Base missions are utilizing data gathered by NASA through the development of systems like SPLICE to achieve soft touchdowns on the lunar surface. Adams mentioned that coordination with the industry regarding the guidance system's use is ongoing once the system becomes available in the NASA software catalog, which is currently anticipated this fall. Some companies are also assessing the system's navigation abilities for precision landing uses, as well as potential expansions for autonomous surface mobility.

NASA’s Flight Opportunities project, which is based at NASA Armstrong, facilitated early flight testing of the SPLICE project, establishing a foundation for its continued advancement in technology readiness. Previous flight testing included a descent altitude and a landing trajectory in 2019 that mirrored expected lunar mission conditions, alongside the demonstration of two NASA-developed precision landing sensor systems in 2020.