The Spanish technology company GMV revealed a navigation system similar to GPS to the Moon which aims to make lunar missions as intuitive as driving around the city with applications like Google Maps or Waze .
Called Lupin the project is part of a European space agency program to test new techniques of positioning, navigation and timing, as interest in exploiting the lunar surface grows again, either for scientific research, potential mining opportunities or even future tourism.
“With this software, we approached Europe to establish human presence on the moon and potentially that would be a springboard for the exploration of Mars or the human presence in Mars,” Steven Kay, project director, told Reuters.
The new technology was put to the test in Fuerteventura’s supernatural landscapes – one of Spain’s cannance islands – where GMV has conducted field tests with the prototype in a part of the earth that has some resemblance to the lunar surface.
When using signs similar to GPS of satellites in lunar orbit Lupin would allow robots and astronauts to identify their location on the moon in real time.
Currently, navigating the largest natural satellite on Earth is difficult, as spaces on its surface need to depend on complex calculations and data transmitted from Earth, which is not fast or need.
“Communication depends on direct visibility with the land or the use of relay satellites in lunar orbit, which creates communicative shadow zones and latency times that make it difficult to make immediate decisions,” GMV said in a statement.
Lack of real -time updates on lunar ground changes caused by recent impacts or lunar dust movements also make it difficult to terrestrial satellite travel.
The company wants to combine the existing lunar cartography with information collected from satellites in lunar orbit aimed at dark points, such as the lunar south pole and the “hidden side”, the area usually in the shadow.
“We want these robots to map the moon surface quickly and safely so that astronauts can return in a few years, work there and establish permanent bases,” GMV’s chief Mariella Graziano said.
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This content was originally published in GPS on the moon: Spanish company launches lunar navigation system on CNN Brazil.
Source: CNN Brasil
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