WASHINGTON: NASA has successfully tested new cutting-edge technologies that would enable spacecraft to land at a specific location on Mars or any other planetary body with more precision than ever before.
In collaboration with Masten Space Systems in California, engineers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory recently tested these technologies on board a high-tech demonstration vehicle called the Autonomous Descent and Ascent Powered-flight Testbed (ADAPT).
ADAPT is a test system built on Masten’s “Xombie” vertical-launch, vertical-landing reusable rocket. The Xombie platform provides a good approximation of Mars-like descent conditions through high-speed descent rates at low altitudes.Those conditions are difficult to achieve through conventional flight test platforms.
Onboard this rocket, two sophisticated lander technologies were recently tested: Terrain Relative Navigation with a sensor called the Lander Vision System (LVS), and the Guidance for Fuel-Optimal Large Diverts (G-FOLD) algorithm.
“No previous Mars lander has used onboard surface imaging to achieve a safe and precise touchdown, but a future spacecraft could use LVS and G-FOLD to first autonomously determine its location and then optimally fly to its intended landing site,” said Nikolas Trawny, ADAPT’s principal investigator at JPL.
“All of this happens on board, without human intervention, and in real time,” said Trawny.
ADAPT technology has numerous potential applications, including landing on the Moon, asteroids and other space targets.
The terrain-relative navigation capability provided by LVS allows Xombie to precisely determine its position without requiring GPS.
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