NASA Drone Test Shows Moon Landing Software Can Dodge Unsafe Sites

NASA says it has successfully demonstrated technology that lets a spacecraft pick a safe landing spot on its own. The agency flew the system on a drone that performed simulated lunar descents and landings on Aug. 27, according to NASA.

The technology, called SPLICE, is meant for the Moon and other planets. NASA says it is being prepared for use by commercial lunar landers.

What did NASA actually test?

An Alta-X drone carried NASA's Safe and Precise Landing – Integrated Capabilities Evolution payload, known as SPLICE. It is a package of guidance, navigation and control technology. The drone flew the simulated lunar descent and landing maneuvers at Rogers Dry Lake, near NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California.

This was a stand-in for a real landing. No spacecraft touched down on the Moon, and the drone was used to mimic the kind of descent a lander would make.

How does the system pick a safe spot?

During descent, SPLICE maps the terrain below and evaluates possible landing areas, NASA said. It builds high-resolution digital elevation maps from data gathered by light-detection and other sensors. If the system judges the targeted area to be unsafe, it steers the vehicle to a safer location instead.

Who built it, and how long has it taken?

Researchers at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston developed the payload. They worked with specialists at NASA Armstrong to integrate it with the drone, test it and fly it. Those earlier tests, in June and July, checked communications, data handling, telemetry and command-and-control performance between the payload and the drone.

Davis Adams, NASA's project manager, called the August flight the “culmination of almost a decade of work” on SPLICE. He said it raised the technology's readiness level, which is a measure of how mature a technology is, preparing it for integration into future robotic and crewed lunar flights.

NASA's Flight Opportunities project, based at Armstrong, supported earlier flight testing. According to NASA, that included a 2019 test of a descent altitude and landing trajectory similar to what is expected on a lunar mission. In 2020, it included a demonstration of two NASA-developed precision landing sensor systems.

Why does it matter for future Moon and Mars missions?

Landing is one of the riskiest steps of any mission to another world, and a lander cannot always count on humans to pick a spot in real time. A system that can assess terrain and divert by itself addresses that problem. Adams said validating the guidance and navigation systems applies to landings on Earth, the Moon and Mars.

NASA has also worked with several commercial lunar lander providers to build versions of SPLICE into their vehicles. According to the agency, a number of landers planned for upcoming Moon Base missions draw on data NASA collected while developing systems like SPLICE, to achieve soft touchdowns on the lunar surface.

For the public, the practical effect is indirect. Safer, more precise landings could improve the odds that future robotic and crewed missions reach the surface intact. The drone flight is one step in a longer development effort, and the technology has not yet been shown on an actual lunar landing.

What happens next?

NASA said the June and July tests prepared the payload for a full-scale test at Voyager Technologies in Mojave, California.

The agency also plans to make the guidance system available in its software catalog this fall. Adams said NASA is coordinating with industry on how companies might use it. Some companies are evaluating its navigation capabilities for precision landing and possible extensions for autonomous movement across a planet's surface, he said.

Around Prague, based on reporting by NASA