Science
Engineers design traffic control system to prevent spacecraft collisions in lunar orbit
Researchers from NASA and academic institutions have developed an orbital navigation protocol ahead of planned increases in moon missions.
The short version
- Engineers from Texas A&M, Purdue, and NASA's Johnson Space Center developed a lunar traffic control system to coordinate spacecraft in orbit.
- The system uses radio signals from Earth's Deep Space Network and onboard optical sensors to estimate position without a lunar GPS network.
- Initial testing is scheduled for the Capstone 02 mission next year, followed by further trials during a 2027 Artemis mission.
Key facts
- Engineers from Texas A&M, Purdue University, and NASA's Johnson Space Center collaborated on a traffic management system for spacecraft orbiting the moon.[CNET]
- The control protocol was designed to coordinate multiple craft, such as crew capsules, cargo transport, and landers, in complex trajectories like the near-rectilinear halo orbit.[CNET]
- Because no GPS network exists around the moon, the system calculates position estimates using radio signals from the Deep Space Network and optical instruments onboard the craft.[CNET]
- System simulations demonstrated that multiple spacecraft could maintain safety buffers in the same orbit without collisions.[CNET]
- The traffic control system is slated for its first operational test on the Capstone 02 mission scheduled for launch next year.[CNET]
What remains uncertain
- NASA is evaluating alternative orbital paths for future lunar missions following the cancellation of the Gateway space station project.[CNET]