Navigation Technology Goes to Space: GPS on the Moon (1)

Can you drive on the overpass without GPS?

I think most people’s answer is “no”. After all, humans do not have the acute perceptivity to the change of the Earth magnetic field like pigeons, nor do they leave scents as markers like other animals. Humans only rely on reference objects in the brain to establish a memory model, but once you get into an environment that is both unfamiliar and lacks references, getting lost is a high probability event.

Therefore, human beings have been struggling with “getting lost” since ancient times. From the earliest star-reading to the compass of the age of exploration, to the GPS system developed in recent decades, as long as human beings have navigation tools in hand, they would hardly get lost.

But it is only limited to the Earth. Since Apollo 11 landed on the Moon in 1969, more and more commercial spacecraft such as Virgin Galactic and SpaceX have been going into space. Mankind encountered a new problem: What should I use to navigate on the Moon? What kind of navigation should I use in the vast universe?

The answer given by Masten Space Systems, a start-up company in Mojave, is to build a GPS for the Moon. It is reported that Masten has completed the first phase of its project, a concept design including the completion of PNT beacons which will enable a ground network to broadcast radio signals and allow spacecraft and other orbital assets to wirelessly connect navigation, timing and position tracking. The main purpose of the second phase is to develop a PNT beacon that can withstand the harsh lunar environment. It is expected to be completed in 2023 to help NASA realize the Artemis plan (exploring the lunar south pole and establishing a permanent space station).