NASA Langley’s tech will be aboard flights attempting first commercial moon landing
HAMPTON — Technologies developed at NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton are about to be launched into space as two private companies vie to be the first commercial flights to land on the moon.
If either of the flights is successful, it will mark the first U.S. moon landing since NASA’s Apollo 17 mission in 1972.
In the coming weeks, the technologies will be launched aboard two flights under NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative — a program where NASA works with several American companies to deliver science and technology payloads to the lunar surface and advance capabilities for science exploration, and commercial development of the moon. The program will demonstrate capabilities to help NASA explore the moon and prepare for human missions.
Researchers discussed the groundbreaking technologies during an event at NASA Langley’s Measurement Systems Laboratory on Thursday. One is the Navigation Doppler Lidar, a system that uses lasers to precisely determine a spacecraft’s velocity and range as it comes in for a landing. This technology will be heading for space next week.
Farzin Amzajerdian, NDL’s principal investigator, explained how the lidar technology, which is approximately 30 pounds, replaces a much larger radar technology that wasn’t nearly as precise. He said precision is “key” to locating valuable resources on the moon, such as water.
“The purpose now is to have sustained human presence on the moon and then use the moon as a path forward to Mars,” Amzajerdian said. “What that means is that you have to use the resources that are available out there.”
He said these resources are likely located on the moon’s south pole, which he describes as “rough” and “dark” with many mountains, valleys and craters. The new Navigation Doppler Lidar technology, which provides precise measurements of altitude, speed and direction of space vehicles, will be helpful in navigating the terrain and ensuring a gentle touchdown on the surface of the moon, Mars or other destinations in the solar system.
The other technology discussed Thursday morning was Stereo Cameras for Lunar Plume-Surface Studies or SCALPSS, an array of small cameras placed around the base of a lunar lander to take images of the interaction between the spacecraft’s engine plume and the moon’s surface. Olivia Tyrrell of the SCALPSS photogrammetry team explained how a technique called stereo photogrammetry allows researchers to use overlapping images to produce a 3D shape of the ground.
Tyrrell explained how the plumes form craters on the moon’s surface and can potentially alter the terrain or cause other types of phenomena that might pose “significant risks.” Because of this, she said it’s essential to understand these rockets’ effects on the ground. Researchers can use the information from the SCALPSS technology to more accurately predict the effects of landing larger, heavier payloads in proximity to one another on the moon and eventually Mars.
“Even though these technologies come in small packages, they will have huge effects,” NASA Langley spokesperson Joe Atkinson said. “They’ll advance our ability to safely land people and payloads on the moon and other celestial bodies in the name of science and exploration. And so they’re really key to helping us further unlock the mysteries of our solar system and our place in the universe.”
The Navigation Doppler Lidar is scheduled to launch from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida at 2:18 a.m. Monday on Astrobotic Technology’s Peregrine 1 lander aboard a United Launch Alliance Vulcan Centaur rocket. In this instance, the Navigation Doppler Lidar is a critical landing system provided by NASA.
Two companies will attempt the first US moon landings since the Apollo missions a half-century ago
Peregrine 1 is expected to land on the moon on Feb. 23. Atkinson said Astrobotic’s Peregrine Mission One is scheduled to be one of the first U.S. lunar landings since the final mission of the Apollo program more than 50 years ago. This will be the first flight for United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan rocket.
Intuitive Machines’ Nova-C lander, which will carry both the Navigation Doppler Lidar and SCALPSS 1.0, will launch from Kennedy Space Center in Florida in February aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, although the exact date is still to be determined.
The Intuitive Machines’ Nova-C lander will have a much shorter travel time than the Peregrine Mission One, landing about a week after launch. Depending on the outcome of the launches, Atkinson said either spacecraft has a shot at being the first private flight to land on the moon.
Amzajerdian said the Navigation Doppler Lidar took 17 years to develop from a concept to its current form and that it is “really rewarding” to see it go into space. He believes exploring the moon, Mars and other planets can help answer the question of what humanity’s role is in the universe.
Josh Janney, joshua.janney@virginiamedia.com
