GPS on Moon? How NASA cracked a decade-long problem
What's the story
In a major milestone, NASA has successfully used Global Positioning System (GPS) signals on the Moon, an unprecedented event in the history of space exploration.
The groundbreaking feat, a decade in the making, was achieved via the Lunar GNSS Receiver Experiment (LuGRE) which received and tracked GPS signals.
The achievement was a result of a collaborative effort between NASA and the Italian Space Agency.
GNSS advantages
How will this benefit future lunar missions?
The successful reception and tracking of GPS signals on the Moon could greatly improve future lunar missions, including Artemis.
These signals could offer precise and autonomous data about a spacecraft's position, speed, and time.
NASA has said it is optimistic that this technological advancement will prove to be a boon for upcoming exploration initiatives.
GNSS explained
Understanding GNSS signals and their significance
GNSS signals are critical for delivering information related to positioning, navigation, and timing.
These signals are beamed using radio waves from satellites orbiting Earth.
Different governments around the world provide multiple GNSS constellations such as GPS, Galileo, BeiDou, and GLONASS.
The successful utilization of these signals on the Moon highlights their significance in space exploration missions.
Payload delivery
LuGRE's journey to the lunar surface
LuGRE, an integral part of this milestone, was delivered to the Moon by Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost lunar lander.
The lander touched down on the Moon on March 2, carrying LuGRE and other NASA payloads.
After landing, LuGRE commenced its first scientific operation on the lunar surface under the supervision of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland.
Milestone records
LuGRE's record-breaking achievements
LuGRE has broken new records in its mission. It got a navigation fix at some 362,102km from Earth and will continue to work for 14 days, opening doors for more GNSS milestones.
On January 21, it broke the highest altitude GNSS signal acquisition ever recorded at nearly 337,961km from Earth.
The record was previously held by NASA's Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission.