Rocket Sled Test of NASA's Ultra-Precise Moon Landing Technology

NASA will need ultra-precise entry, descent and landing technology to land the first woman and next man safely on the Moon in 2024. NASA is developing an advanced suite of sensors, avionics and algorithms to avoid hazards and perform extremely safe and precise landings on planetary surfaces. One of those critical landing technologies is navigation Doppler lidar (NDL), which is used to determine precise vehicle velocity and position.

The new NDL unit, being developed at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, is comprised of a small electronics box connected by fiberoptic cables to three lenses that transmit laser beams to an anticipated distance greater than 4 miles on the Moon and 2.5 miles on Earth. Those beams reflect off the ground to help the sensor determine its speed, direction and altitude. NDL provides ultra-precise measurements that identify exactly how high a human or robotic lander is and how fast it is traveling.

Learn more: https://go.nasa.gov/2mboKtZ