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Completed TRL 6 (started at 4, targeting 6)
NASA's future planetary rover-based missions similar to VIPER or Perseverance will require increased sensing capabilities to support the autonomous exploration of extreme environments such as permanently shadowed lunar craters. Current state-of-the-art systems for rover navigation are stereo-camera-based systems. When compared to lidars, these systems are slow, rely on variable ambient light or relatively weak floodlights, have limited range, and perform poorly in an array of operational scenarios including environments with low visibility and certain lighting conditions. Stereo camera solutions require onerous image processing, bandwidth intensive downlinks, the measurement quality is prone to range resolution degradation, and contrast limits common in extreme environments preclude feature extraction.
In conceptual planning of the Viper rover, the project team pursued and desired a LIDAR imaging system for navigation hoping to leverage the performance improvements inherent in a LIDAR system versus the capability of a camera-based system. The discussions concerning the technology gap was the inception developing a qualified LIDAR imaging system and eventually led to forming the SQRLi project.
Spacecube mini processor is flight proven in cubesats and being used in the Kodiak and Ocellus MEB Main Electronics, and gives the HTRL Lidar on board processing capabilities that is not available on present camera systems. This offers ability to provide navigation aid required for autonomous operation of terrestrial rovers and vehicles.
Lidar imaging systems have inherent survey and mapping capabilities and are commonly used in science applications requiring high resolutions 3D image data sets. The 3D imagery data provides a multi-use product that can easily be tailored to navigation requirements and scientific objectives.
The Space Qualified Rover Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) (SQRLi) is the first of its kind 3D imaging LiDAR system designed explicitly to support wheeled surface mobility (i.e., planetary and human rovers). It incorporates high TRL imaging Lidar technology into a flight-qualified rover sensing system unlike any other. Currently available lidar systems for EDL and science are large, power hungry, have limited field of view, or they're simply not robust enough to survive the rigorous environmental constraints of space flight to a planetary surface.
Leveraging the extensive work on the Kodiak 3D lidar system for OSAM-1, SQRLi will provide a significant increase in sensing capability for rover navigation systems. Relative to stereo cameras, it will have an increased range and field of view with the ability to detect hazards in extremely poor visibility environments such as direct sunlight or washed out scenes. LiDAR-derived 3D imagery will enhance the safety, reliability, productivity, and efficiency of lunar rover surface operations with the added benefit of producing valuable scientific information.
SQRLi will be the first high TRL Lidar for planetary rovers, this effort is synergistic with the 2020 NASA Technology Taxonomy and STMD Strategic Framework and applicable to LSII. This effort is synergistic with the 2020 NASA Technology Taxonomy and STMD Strategic Framework and applicable to LSII. NASA should leverage existing investments in Autonomous Rendezvous and Docking (TX04.5) to develop 3D range imaging sensors for surface mobility (TX04.1.1) and enhanced robotic autonomy (TX10).
HTRL Lidar will be a high TRL system and along with minimal SWaP makes this technology flexible and a powerful subsystem sensor to augment multiple types of platforms and system requirements.
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