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Completed TRL 6 (started at 5, targeting 6)
Future robotic and manned missions to the solar system bodies (Moon, Mars, Asteroids, etc.) demand accurate knowledge of ground relative velocity and altitude in order to ensure soft landing at the designated landing site. Some missions may even require landing within a few meters of pre-deployed assets or landing in a small area surrounded by rocks, craters, or steep slopes. To meet these requirements, a Doppler lidar sensor has been developed by NASA-LaRC under the Autonomous Landing and Hazard Avoidance Technology (ALHAT) project. A prototype version of the Doppler lidar has recently been completed and ready for demonstration flight tests. We propose a closed-loop flight demonstration of this Doppler lidar on the Masten suborbital reusable launch vehicle (sRLV).
COBALT Flight Demonstrations Fuse Technologies to Gain Precision Landing Results.
NDL is selected for a flight demonstration on the moon through Commercial Lunar Payload Services.
Problem Statement
The Doppler lidar will begin its operation during the powered descent phase from an altitude of a few kilometers above the ground. The GN&C system processes the lidar data to improve the vehicle position data from the Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) that after long travel time from Earth are grossly inaccurate by hundreds of meters. The improved position knowledge along with the lidar precision vector velocity data enables the GN&C system to continuously update the vehicle trajectory toward the landing site. In addition to the precision trajectory determination, the lidar data will play important role in performing the soft landing maneuver.
This Doppler lidar technology will improve the vehicle position data from the Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) for more accurate and controlled landings, which will benefit the commercial space industry and future NASA missions.
Future Customers
This flight demonstration will reduce the risk of using the advanced Doppler lidar technology for future landing missions that may be launched as early as 2017 and certainly for recently-announced Mars rover launch in 2020. The flight demonstration will familiarize the potential users with the Doppler lidar measurements and gain the confidence of mission designers.
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