Recent Advancements of the Lidar-based Autonomous Planetary Landing System (LAPS)
- Paper number
IAC-07-D3.2.06
- Author
Dr. Christopher S. Langley, MacDonald Dettwiler & Associates, Canada
- Coauthor
Allen Taylor, MacDonald Dettwiler & Associates, Canada
- Coauthor
Mr. Raja Mukherji, MDA, Canada
- Coauthor
Mr. George Yang, MacDonald Dettwiler & Associates, Canada
- Coauthor
Dr. Jean de Lafontaine, NGC Aerospace Ltd., Canada
- Coauthor
Mr. David Neveu, NGC Aerospace Ltd., Canada
- Coauthor
Dr. Robert Richards, Optech Incorporated, Canada
- Coauthor
Mr. Jeff Tripp, Optech Incorporated, Canada
- Coauthor
Ms. Claudine Giroud, Optech Incorporated, Canada
- Coauthor
Ms. Karina Lebel, NGC Aerospace Ltd., Canada
- Coauthor
Mr. Charles-Etienne Lemay, NGC Aerospace Ltd., Canada
- Year
2007
- Abstract
Future exploration missions to the lunar or Martian surfaces will require the ability to land in a particular region of interest, either for targeted scientific study, identification of in situ resources, or establishment of a manned presence. In the past, the only suitable landing areas have been those with relatively flat, hazard-free terrain over the entire uncertainty ellipse of the landing spacecraft. However, the desired landing areas for future exploration and utilization missions will almost certainly have terrain that do not meet these criteria. Consequently, there is a clear need for an intelligent landing sensor system that can detect hazards and guide the lander to a safe landing site identified during descent. Lidar-based systems enjoy many advantages over competing hazard detection technologies. Unlike camera-based systems, the lidar is an active illuminator which allows landing during the night, in shadowed polar regions, or within the interior of a crater. Scanning lidar has better spatial resolution, less mass, and lower complexity than radar-based systems.
This paper will present recent advancements of the Lidar-based Autonomous Planetary landing System (LAPS). LAPS is intended both for fully autonomous use by unmanned descent vehicles, and for manned vehicles in a supervised autonomy scheme. A technical overview of the LAPS operational concept will be provided, including its impact on the lander, and the resulting design reference mission will be contrasted and compared with precursor hazard detection missions (for example, the Apollo Moon landings). The effects of lander motion on the imaging capabilities of the sensor will be addressed, and the need for platform stabilization and motion correction to remove motion-induced image distortions will be detailed. Recent activities taken to mature the technology include the development of the LAPS Dynamic Test Facility. This test facility enables hardware-in-the-loop simulation of planetary descent using a lidar sensor, a robotic motion system, and a scaled emulation of Mars terrain. The real-time motion system allows the effects of lander motion on the lidar image to be emulated and the platform stabilization and motion correction functions validated. Safe sites, identified by the sensor in real time, are used by the simulated lander’s guidance, navigation, and control (GNC) functions to guide the spacecraft to a safe landing site. Future plans for validating the LAPS approach include full-scale tests at the Precision Landing GNC Test Facility (PLGTF) currently under development by the European Space Agency.
- Abstract document
- Manuscript document
IAC-07-D3.2.06.pdf (🔒 authorized access only).
To get the manuscript, please contact IAF Secretariat.