This project supported the joint NASA/ASI (Italian Space Agency) “Do No Harm” mission that received and characterized GNSS signals cislunar including lunar surface. It flew on the CLPS 19D flight on the Firefly Blue Ghost 1 commercial lander, launched 1-15-25. The LuGRE experiment was 100% successful as the receiver met all performance criteria at the minimum, full, and augmented levels for cislunar and lunar surface ops. The experiment concluded 3-16-25.

This project supported the development and flight of the Lunar GNSS Receiver Experiment receiver.

The objective of the multi-Global Navigation Satellite System (mGNSS) project is to:

• Develop a low Size, Weight, Power and Cost (SWaP-C) GNSS receiver appropriate for all orbit regimes including cislunar/lunar space
• Qualify the mGNSS receiver to fly on the FireFly Blue Ghost Lander, see LuGRE project.
• Infuse a lunar capable GNSS receiver into lunar Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) architecture/missions and other novel applications

Operational use of GPS has been demonstrated half-way to the moon on the Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission. Lunar GNSS feasibility has been demonstrated through high fidelity simulations conducted by the Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) program, and in lunar orbit and on the lunar surface by the LuGRE experiment. See LuGRE entry in TechPort.

Provides characterization of GNSS signals at the moon for improved navigation performance.

• Provides a low SWAP GNSS receiver for precise real-time navigation and timing for LEO, GEO, HEO, and cislunar/lunar space missions to enable guidance, navigation, and control (GN&C) and science
• Leverages existing always-on Earth-based infrastructure for navigation and timing
• Reduces network loading and increase onboard mission capability
• Enables crewed autonomous navigation and timing in the event of loss of communication
• Enables real-time, precise on-board PNT distribution
• Reduces risk for commercial development and operation
• Maintains hardware-in-the-loop simulation, development, testing capabilities