NPAL EVOLUTIONS APPLIED TO ESA'S LUNAR LANDER MISSION

摘要

In 2010, The European Space Agency has kicked off the phase B1 of Lunar Lander: a mission aiming to autonomously, safely, softly and precisely landing a spacecraft at the lunar South Pole by 2018. Astrium, in charge of mission analysis and spacecraft design, is actively involved in the design of the GNC system for which innovative solutions had to be implemented in order to meet stringent landing requirements. Built upon work performed during the Lunar Lander phase A, Astrium proposes a navigation system based on the NPAL solution developed with ESA, and improved through internal studies at Astrium. Compatible with the very sequence of lunar descent and landing as well as needs for Hazard Detection and Avoidance, this navigation solution is designed to meet both real time and CPU load challenges inherent to such a lunar endeavor. Recent test campaigns with computer-generated and data acquired with a helicopter have also confirmed that navigation solution is compatible with soft and precision landing requirements.