Journey to
the Moon
Image from Artemis Courtesy of NASA
Firefly Aerospace has entrusted space-ng, Inc., to develop the vision navigation system for its Blue Ghost lunar lander.
Designed to make lunar landings safer and more cost effective, space-ng’s patented machine vision algorithms will process Blue Ghost’s on-board camera data to navigate from a 100 km circular lunar orbit to a precise location on the Moon's surface.
"With the Moon being more than 300,000 km away, it’s critical for our lander to autonomously navigate to a precise location. Light doesn’t travel fast enough to have a person in the loop," says William Coogan, Lunar Lander Chief Engineer at Firefly Aerospace. "That's why we're proud to partner with space-ng for Blue Ghost’s vision navigation system. With our expertise and cutting-edge technologies combined, we're confident our lander will not only reach its precise target, but will also autonomously navigate around unforeseen hazards to safely land on the Moon."
Simulating the Moon for GN&C
Our mission demands precise navigation, including the ability to detect and avoid obstacles like rocks as small as 30 cm. Given that the LROC Digital Terrain Models (DTMs) offer a resolution of 3 meters per pixel, we’ve developed highly detailed, custom terrain models to enhance the training of our vision system.
By simulating challenging environments, we are training our vision system to detect potential hazards, such as uneven terrain, craters, and rocks, ensuring a safe and smooth landing process. This advanced hazard detection capability is critical to the success of our missions, allowing us to operate effectively in complex and unknown environments.