Landing on the Moon presents a formidable challenge, especially when a spacecraft must adhere to stringent landing requirements. For the Artemis missions, NASA has set specific criteria to ensure that lunar landings are not only safe but also precise. These missions demand the ability to land in an area roughly the size of a football field, while navigating the complexities of different lighting conditions and rugged terrain.
The official requirement established by NASA for lunar landings is the capability to land within a 50-meter (approximately 164 feet) radius of the designated target. Achieving this level of precision is not just a matter of convenience; it is crucial for the success of the mission. To meet these demanding standards, NASA is focusing on developing advanced tools and technologies.
Recently, NASA engineers marked significant progress towards achieving safe and precise landings on the Moon. This advancement, which holds promise for future Mars and other icy world explorations, was demonstrated through a successful field test of hazard detection technology at the Kennedy Space Center’s Shuttle Landing Facility in Florida.
A collaborative effort by the Aeroscience and Flight Mechanics Division at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston and the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, has resulted in a landmark achievement. In March 2025, they conducted tests of the Goddard Hazard Detection Lidar system, mounted on a helicopter at Kennedy, representing a substantial step forward.
The newly developed lidar system is a significant component of NASA’s Safe & Precise Landing – Integrated Capabilities Evolution (SPLICE) Program. This program, managed by Johnson, is a cross-agency initiative under the Space Technology Mission Directorate. Its primary objective is to develop the next generation of landing technologies for planetary exploration. SPLICE is an integrated system that combines avionics, sensors, and algorithms to enhance navigation, guidance, and image processing techniques, enabling landings in challenging and previously unexplored areas that hold high scientific interest.
The lidar system stands out due to its remarkable ability to map an area equivalent to two football fields in a mere two seconds. It achieves this by processing 15 million short laser light pulses in real-time, even compensating for the motion of the lander. This rapid scanning creates 3D maps of potential landing sites, facilitating precision landings and hazard avoidance.
These maps are subsequently analyzed by the SPLICE Descent and Landing Computer, a high-performance multicore processor unit. This computer evaluates all data from the SPLICE sensors, determining essential information such as the spacecraft’s velocity, altitude, and potential terrain hazards. It then computes the safest landing location. The Avionics Systems Division at Johnson developed the computer as a testing platform for navigation, guidance, and flight software, having previously been used on Blue Origin’s New Shepard booster rocket.
During the field test at Kennedy, Johnson took the lead in test operations, providing avionics, guidance, navigation, and control support. Engineers upgraded the computer’s firmware and software to facilitate command and data interfacing with the lidar system. The Flight Mechanics branch at Johnson devised a simplified motion compensation algorithm, while NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California contributed a hazard detection algorithm, both of which were incorporated into the lidar software by Goddard. The support from NASA contractors Draper Laboratories and Jacobs Engineering was instrumental in the test’s success.
The primary objectives of the flight test were accomplished on the first day, allowing the lidar team to explore various settings and firmware updates to enhance system performance. The sensor data confirmed its capabilities in a challenging environment characterized by significant vibrations, producing reliable maps. A preliminary review of the recorded sensor data showed an excellent reconstruction of the terrain, demonstrating the system’s effectiveness.
Beyond lunar applications, SPLICE technologies are being considered for a variety of future missions. These include the Mars Sample Return mission, the Europa Lander project, Commercial Lunar Payload Services flights, and the Gateway program. Additionally, the Descent and Landing Computer (DLC) design is being evaluated for potential upgrades to the avionics systems of Artemis missions.
SPLICE is also contributing to the Advancement of Geometric Methods for Active Terrain Relative Navigation (ATRN) Center Innovation Fund project. This initiative, part of Johnson’s Aeroscience and Flight Mechanics Division, seeks to develop algorithms and software capable of using data from any active sensor. Active sensors are those that measure signals reflected, refracted, or scattered by a surface or atmosphere. By accurately mapping terrain and providing absolute and relative location information, such systems can allow spacecraft to identify landing sites without relying on external lighting sources.
With more suborbital flight tests planned through 2026, the SPLICE team is laying the groundwork for safer and more autonomous landings on the Moon, Mars, and beyond. As NASA prepares for a new era of space exploration, SPLICE will play a pivotal role in the agency’s evolving capabilities for landing, guidance, and navigation.
For more details, you can read about the SPLICE program and its advancements on NASA’s official website.
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