Preferences

For a GNSS-type system to work, you need four transmitters in sight. This would imply a moderately dense ground network on the moon for a receiver at orbital height -- and as this article points out, we're not doing great at building even a spare ground network of right-side-up transmitters right now -- but would need increasing density for a descending receiver. We don't really have challenges right now with accurately determining orbital parameters of probes above the moon, it's the final few miles where GNSS-level accuracy would be tempting; but that's also the domain where seeing four ground-based transmitters is basically impossible.

scoofy
If you were trying to land on a specific site though, couldn't you drop down a dozen or so transmitters at the potential landing site? The assign them a location, and have them transmit the relative location to anything landing near them?
tliltocatl
How would you drop them? Don't think a radio transmitter would survive a hard landing, so you will need a proper lander (with altimeter) for each transmitter. And at that point you can just strap your actual payload instead of the transmitter.
scoofy
The point would be you could drop them a bit randomly, once they land, find out where they are, and tell them where they are, to then talk back to the payload as it's landing.

It's the moon, even a hard landing isn't that hard.

This item has no comments currently.