COLOGNE, Germany - Golden packages on the Moon? Not exactly. This is no extraterrestrial gift depot, but a cutting-edge project in the LUNA hall. Here, the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) has been researching how payload boxes, sensors, rovers, and astronauts can connect to form an integrated network. These participants, or nodes within the network, exchange signals that facilitate both communication and navigation, the German Aerospace Center (DLR) reports. Continue reading original article.
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3 January 2025 -"Every robot, sensor, or astronaut becomes a participant in the network, passing on information to its neighbors. We calculate the distances between participants by measuring the time it takes for radio signals to travel between them. Using this method, we can determine the exact positions of all participants within the network," explains Emanuel Staudinger, project manager at the DLR Institute of Communications and Navigation. "The system is decentralised, requires no infrastructure and is designed to accommodate a large number of participants." The swarm navigation network developed by the institute could be used to explore the surfaces of the Moon and Mars. It is also effective in environments on Earth where conventional systems such as satellite navigation are not available, for example in lava caves or other complex terrains.
"The research center – a joint project between DLR and the European Space Agency (ESA) – is designed to prepare astronauts and robots for Moon missions," explains Thomas Uhlig from the LUNA project management team. "Our colleagues from the DLR Institute of Communications and Navigation are among the first to conduct research here. We’ve already received numerous requests from a wide range of fields for access to LUNA. The future looks exciting."
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Jamie Whitney, Senior Editor
Military + Aerospace Electronics
