The Lunar GNSS Receiver Experiment (LuGRE) is a joint NASA-Italian Space Agency (ASI) payload on the Firefly Blue Ghost Mission 1 (BGM1) with the goal to demonstrate GNSS-based positioning, navigation, and timing at the Moon. LuGRE was chosen by the NASA Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program as one of ten payloads on its “19D” task order for delivery to the Moon by late 2023. As a payload on BGM1, LuGRE will fly a trajectory consisting of 15–49 days of Earth-Moon phasing loops, 2–12 days of lunar orbits, a short powered descent, and ultimately 12 Earth days of static operations on the lunar surface. The LuGRE payload consists of a weak-signal GNSS receiver by Qascom, a high-gain L-band patch antenna, and a front-end assembly with an RF filter. The receiver will track GPS L1 C/A and L5, and Galileo E1 and E5a signals and will return pseudorange, carrier phase, and Doppler measurements to the ground. It will also calculate least-squares point solutions and Kalman-filter based navigation solutions onboard. In addition, the receiver features the capability to record raw baseband samples for downlink and ground processing. The GNSS payload is provided by ASI and will be integrated onto the Firefly Blue Ghost lander for flight. LuGRE will build on the legacy of prior missions in the Space Service Volume (SSV) including the initial experiments by AMSAT-OSCAR 40 and others, the GOES-R series of geostationary weather satellites, and the NASA Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission currently operating on GPS-based navigation at nearly 50% of lunar distance. Further, LuGRE will be one of the very first demonstrations of GNSS signal reception and navigation in the lunar environment and on the lunar surface, paving the way for operational use by future lunar missions such as Orion, Gateway, robotic and human landers, and surface rovers. The experiment has three objectives: 1. Receive GNSS signals at the Moon. Return data and characterize the lunar GNSS signal environment. 2. Demonstrate navigation and time estimation using GNSS data collected from the lunar surface at the Moon. 3. Utilize collected data to support development of GNSS receivers specific to lunar use. From these objectives the LuGRE team derived over two dozen individual investigations of interest using the data, including measuring GNSS signal strength and availability throughout the mission, calculating and characterizing on-board navigation solutions, processing downlinked measurements in ground-based navigation tools, and predicting achievable navigation accuracy for future systems using LuGRE-calibrated models. The LuGRE Science Team consists of a NASA principal investigator (PI) and an ASI co-PI who together define the baseline technology demonstrations and science investigations. The science team will also include co-investigators from other organizations who have specific investigations of interest using the LuGRE data and will collaborate in final science design. Ultimately, all LuGRE science data will be released to a public data archive for the benefit of the GNSS and space communities. This paper will provide a detailed overview of the LuGRE payload, including its design, concept of operations, and its predicted ability to meet its core science objectives. The baseline science investigations and priorities will be outlined. Simulated performance results will be shown based on the latest calibrated models by NASA and ASI, including signal strength, signal availability, dilution of precision, onboard navigation performance and convergence properties, and ground-based post-processed navigation performance.
Lunar GNSS Receiver Experiment (LuGRE)
2021
2 pages
Report
No indication
English
Lunar GNSS Receiver Experiment (LuGRE)
NTIS | 2022
|Lunar GNSS Receiver Experiment (LuGRE)
NTIS | 2022
|