LUNAR NAVIGATOR - A MINIATURE, FULLY AUTONOMOUS, LUNAR NAVIGATION, SURVEYOR, AND RANGE FINDER SYSTEM MICROC…

Public award description

LUNAR NAVIGATOR - A MINIATURE, FULLY AUTONOMOUS, LUNAR NAVIGATION, SURVEYOR, AND RANGE FINDER SYSTEM MICROCOSM PROPOSES TO DESIGN AND DEVELOP A FULLY AUTONOMOUS LUNAR NAVIGATOR BASED ON OUR MICROMAK MINIATURE STAR SENSOR AND A GRAVITY GRADIOMETER SIMILAR TO ONE ON A SHIP-BOARD CELESTIAL NAVIGATION SYSTEM DESIGNED BY MICROCOSM FOR THE NAVY. THE NEW SENSOR WILL PROVIDE SURFACE NAVIGATION ON THE MOON OR MARS WITH ACCURACIES COMPARABLE TO STATE-OF-THE-ART PRECISION CELESTIAL NAVIGATION SYSTEMS ON EARTH. THE SYSTEM CAN RAPIDLY DETERMINE ITS LOCATION ANYWHERE ON THE MOON OR MARS WHERE A LARGE PORTION OF THE SKY IS VISIBLE, DAY OR NIGHT. WITH THE UNIQUE THREE FIELD-OF-VIEW STAR SENSOR DESIGN, THE SENSOR CAN ALSO BE USED TO PROVIDE PRECISE SURVEYING OF SURROUNDING TERRAIN AND, IN EITHER OF TWO MODES, CAN PROVIDE PASSIVE RANGE-FINDING TO ARTIFICIAL OR NATURAL OBJECTS. THE ENTIRE PACKAGE WILL BE LESS THAN 10 CM ON A SIDE, WEIGH LESS THAN 1 KG, DRAW LESS THAN 10 W OF POWER, AND WORK IN A WIDE RANGE OF TEMPERATURE AND ILLUMINATION CONDITIONS. PHASE I WILL FOCUS ON THE SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS, A PRELIMINARY NAVIGATOR DESIGN, AND INITIAL PERFORMANCE ESTIMATE. PHASE II WILL FOCUS ON FABRICATING AND TESTING A FUNCTIONING PROTOTYPE OF THE LUNAR NAVIGATOR, INCLUDING GROUND TESTING WITH REAL STARS AT NIGHT.