NASA cracks the code: GPS now works on the Moon

In what may be another small step for man but a giant leap for mankind, NASA and the Italian Space Agency (Agenzia Spaziale Italiana / ASI) have managed to acquire and track GPS navigation signals on the surface of our planet’s only natural satellite.

Indeed, the Lunar GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) Receiver Experiment (LuGRE) has become the first technology demonstration to acquire and track Earth-based navigation signals on the Moon’s surface, according to the report that the space agency published on March 4.

Specifically, on March 2, Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost lunar lander descended on the Moon and delivered LuGRE, one of 10 NASA payloads intended to advance lunar science. After the landing, LuGRE payload operators at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, started their first science operation on the Moon’s surface.

As it happens, the mission will go on for 14 days, providing NASA and ASI the opportunity to collect data in a near-continuous mode, leading to further GNSS milestones. Additionally, LuGRE is the first ASI-developed hardware on the Moon, a milestone for this organization as well.

The LuGRE Payload also broke GNSS records during its journey, surpassing the highest altitude GNSS signal acquisition ever recorded at 209,900 miles (337,800 kilometers) from Earth, a record previously reached by NASA’s Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission.

This altitude record continued to climb as LuGRE reached lunar orbit on February 20 – 243,000 miles (391,070 kilometers) from Earth, which means that missions in the area of space between Earth and the Moon (called the cislunar space) could also rely on GNSS signals from GPS and Galileo for navigation fixes.

Implications of GPS on the Moon

Indeed, the success of the LuGRE payload in the lunar orbit and on the surface suggests that signals from the GNSS can be received and tracked on the Moon. This could aid in accurately and autonomously determining the position, velocity, and time of NASA’s Artemis and other exploration missions, as well as lead to advanced navigation systems and services for the Moon and Mars.

Artistic concept of the LuGRE payload records. Source: NASA — *Artistic concept of the LuGRE payload records. Source:* *NASA*

Commenting on the recent breakthrough, Kevin Coggins, deputy associate administrator for NASA’s SCaN (Space Communications and Navigation) Program, explained:

“On Earth, we can use GNSS signals to navigate in everything from smartphones to airplanes. (…) Now, LuGRE shows us that we can successfully acquire and track GNSS signals on the Moon. This is a very exciting discovery for lunar navigation, and we hope to leverage this capability for future missions.”

Meanwhile, space missions could also benefit from discoveries in the field of fuel used in spacecrafts, after aerospace and defense company General Atomics performed several high-impact tests of nuclear fuel that can withstand extreme conditions in deep space missions.