Lensless Computational Imaging for Stereo Cameras for Lunar Plume-Surface Studies (SCALPSS)

Understanding the interaction of rocket engine plumes with the unimproved lunar regolith is a critical aspect of safely and successfully landing spacecraft on the Moon. The Stereo Cameras for Lunar Plume-Surface Studies (SCALPSS) payload recently imaged the lunar surface during the descent and landing phases of the Firefly Blue Ghost Mission 1 in March of 2025. Primary constraints placed on the SCALPSS payload are limits on mass and data downlink bandwidth, where payload mass is impacted by the heavy camera lenses, and bandwidth usage is generally high due to low image compression. This proposal will investigate the feasibility of using lensless cameras with computational imaging strategies to both reduce the mass of the system (by a factor of two or more) and substantially decrease the size of each image through intelligent compression (by orders of magnitude), allowing for an increase in images downlinked to maximize the science outputs from the mission.

Three primary outcomes from this study are anticipated. First, the ability of the lensless stereo imaging system to accurately determine the surface topology through the calculation of digital elevation maps will be evaluated. This step includes PSF/intrinsic calibration of the cameras, extrinsic calibration of the stereo system, and laser dot grid illumination of the terrain for use at the shadowed lunar south pole. Second, the level to which the images can be compressed (through intelligent/optimized pixel erasure) will be determined. Third, the use of rolling shutter cameras for single-frame effective high-frame-rate imaging will be explored, which, if successful, would open up the possibility of a low-cost particle tracking velocimetry measurement.

This is a mature technology (TRL 7+) — the realistic path in is usually NASA's Technology Transfer Program: licensing an existing NASA patent, or a Space Act Agreement to use NASA facilities/expertise directly. NASA also runs a startup licensing program with no upfront fee for companies formed to commercialize a specific NASA technology.

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