ESA Lunar SATNAV Proposal
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ESA Lunar SATNAV Proposal
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-57191359
Europe plans sat-nav and telecoms network at the Moon
The European Space Agency is proposing a precise navigation system at the Moon, much like the sat-nav technology we have here on Earth.
It would enable spacecraft and astronauts to know exactly where they are when moving around the lunar body and to land with precision.
The initiative, known as Moonlight, would also incorporate a telecommunications function…..
"We are entering a new phase - the systematic exploration of our 'eighth continent', the Moon," said David Parker, the director of human and robotic exploration at Esa. The Moon is a repository of 4.5 billion years of Solar System history, but we've hardly begun to unlock its secrets. And so Moonlight is something that we see as really exciting, as a necessary infrastructure to support sustained exploration."
Esa is asking two industrial consortia in Europe to define what an integrated sat-nav and telecoms system at the Moon would look like. It will include a constellation of at least three, but probably more, positioning-and-relay satellites to give global coverage, and will likely include some surface beacons, too, to augment the accuracy of the navigation signals.
"The target we have at the moment is that the constellation would be able to allow for an accuracy of 100m and probably better. We think we are able to get to 30m in the first instance," explained Paul Verhoef, the director of Esa's navigation department.
Moonlight is just at the feasibility stage at the moment - what is known in industry-speak as a Phase A/B1 study.
The consortia will put their thinking on the technologies required in reports to Esa, who will then produce a defined and costed proposal to go before Europe's research ministers when they gather for their triennial council meeting next year.
One consortium will be led by the UK small satellite manufacturer, Surrey Satellite Technology Limited. SSTL assembled the navigation payloads on the European Union's Galileo sat-nav system.
The other group will be fronted by the Italian space systems company Telespazio. One of its team-members is London-based Inmarsat, which is a world leader in satellite telecommunications for on-the-move applications, such as in ships and planes……
The expectation is that Esa will pursue a commercial model for the constellation, which is to say it will buy a service from an operator rather than own the system or any of the hardware.
"I think that's the way it will go," commented Nick Shave, vice president of strategic programmes at Inmarsat. "Esa will run it from a service-based perspective and leave a level of risk with the consortium. That's why it's really important now that we establish the business case and get the income model right."…..
If this is the way it's done, all manner of customers - from private entities to the big space agencies, such as Esa and Nasa - will need to see the utility of contracting out their sat-nav and data-relay needs.
Certainly, this seems to fit with the current direction of travel. Nasa is purchasing cargo-delivery and even crew-landing services from commercial providers as part of its Artemis project.
And Esa, too, has started down this road by giving a telecoms service contract to SSTL for its Lunar Pathfinder satellite, which can be seen as a kind of prototype for Moonlight. Indeed, it will test receiver technology that can be used to fix a position in space.
But the build of Pathfinder is being self-financed by the Guildford-based company. And when it's flying in 2023/24, it will sell its relay service to any and all who want to use it.
The plan is to put Pathfinder into a highly elliptical orbit so that it can have long periods of visibility over the Moon's South Pole - the planned destination of early Artemis missions.
"Pathfinder is important for us because it will sound out the market," said Nelly Offord, the head of business for exploration at SSTL.
"When you're looking to commercialise something, it's much easier to start on a smaller scale with one spacecraft, to make sure the service is right for communication. Pathfinder will also be able to interact with the future constellation. So, if you like, it will sort of become the first node of the constellation."
Europe plans sat-nav and telecoms network at the Moon
The European Space Agency is proposing a precise navigation system at the Moon, much like the sat-nav technology we have here on Earth.
It would enable spacecraft and astronauts to know exactly where they are when moving around the lunar body and to land with precision.
The initiative, known as Moonlight, would also incorporate a telecommunications function…..
"We are entering a new phase - the systematic exploration of our 'eighth continent', the Moon," said David Parker, the director of human and robotic exploration at Esa. The Moon is a repository of 4.5 billion years of Solar System history, but we've hardly begun to unlock its secrets. And so Moonlight is something that we see as really exciting, as a necessary infrastructure to support sustained exploration."
Esa is asking two industrial consortia in Europe to define what an integrated sat-nav and telecoms system at the Moon would look like. It will include a constellation of at least three, but probably more, positioning-and-relay satellites to give global coverage, and will likely include some surface beacons, too, to augment the accuracy of the navigation signals.
"The target we have at the moment is that the constellation would be able to allow for an accuracy of 100m and probably better. We think we are able to get to 30m in the first instance," explained Paul Verhoef, the director of Esa's navigation department.
Moonlight is just at the feasibility stage at the moment - what is known in industry-speak as a Phase A/B1 study.
The consortia will put their thinking on the technologies required in reports to Esa, who will then produce a defined and costed proposal to go before Europe's research ministers when they gather for their triennial council meeting next year.
One consortium will be led by the UK small satellite manufacturer, Surrey Satellite Technology Limited. SSTL assembled the navigation payloads on the European Union's Galileo sat-nav system.
The other group will be fronted by the Italian space systems company Telespazio. One of its team-members is London-based Inmarsat, which is a world leader in satellite telecommunications for on-the-move applications, such as in ships and planes……
The expectation is that Esa will pursue a commercial model for the constellation, which is to say it will buy a service from an operator rather than own the system or any of the hardware.
"I think that's the way it will go," commented Nick Shave, vice president of strategic programmes at Inmarsat. "Esa will run it from a service-based perspective and leave a level of risk with the consortium. That's why it's really important now that we establish the business case and get the income model right."…..
If this is the way it's done, all manner of customers - from private entities to the big space agencies, such as Esa and Nasa - will need to see the utility of contracting out their sat-nav and data-relay needs.
Certainly, this seems to fit with the current direction of travel. Nasa is purchasing cargo-delivery and even crew-landing services from commercial providers as part of its Artemis project.
And Esa, too, has started down this road by giving a telecoms service contract to SSTL for its Lunar Pathfinder satellite, which can be seen as a kind of prototype for Moonlight. Indeed, it will test receiver technology that can be used to fix a position in space.
But the build of Pathfinder is being self-financed by the Guildford-based company. And when it's flying in 2023/24, it will sell its relay service to any and all who want to use it.
The plan is to put Pathfinder into a highly elliptical orbit so that it can have long periods of visibility over the Moon's South Pole - the planned destination of early Artemis missions.
"Pathfinder is important for us because it will sound out the market," said Nelly Offord, the head of business for exploration at SSTL.
"When you're looking to commercialise something, it's much easier to start on a smaller scale with one spacecraft, to make sure the service is right for communication. Pathfinder will also be able to interact with the future constellation. So, if you like, it will sort of become the first node of the constellation."
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I don't know whether this system presupposes the use of imagers or not, but I would be glad if ESA decides to equip this sat-nav network with them. This decision will let us not just have a navigation system but also observe the Moon and get high-resolution photos of it. I know that Dragonfly Aerospace, a South-African imagery producer, cooperates with numerous satellite launchers and manufacturers, so why don't they work together with the ESA?
What do you see the reason being for this sat-nav network having an imaging capability?
I'd agree it might be a "nice to have" but it would add weight, complexity and cost and I'm not sure what the gain would be given the mapping that has already been done.
I'd agree it might be a "nice to have" but it would add weight, complexity and cost and I'm not sure what the gain would be given the mapping that has already been done.
