{"id":770440,"date":"2023-10-25T14:15:17","date_gmt":"2023-10-25T18:15:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/?p=770440"},"modified":"2023-10-25T14:15:17","modified_gmt":"2023-10-25T18:15:17","slug":"nasa-improves-giant-optical-navigation-technology-for-future-missions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/?p=770440","title":{"rendered":"NASA Improves GIANT Optical Navigation Technology for Future Missions"},"content":{"rendered":"

As NASA scientists study the returned fragments of asteroid Bennu, the team that helped navigate the mission on its journey<\/a> refines their technology for potential use in future robotic and crewed missions.<\/p>\n

The optical navigation team at NASA\u2019s Goddard Space Flight Center<\/a> in Greenbelt, Maryland, served as a backup navigation resource<\/a> for the OSIRIS-REx<\/a> (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security \u2013 Regolith Explorer) mission to near-Earth asteroid Bennu. They double-checked the primary navigation team\u2019s work and proved the viability of navigation by visual cues.<\/p>\n

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\"The<\/figure>
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The sample return capsule from NASA\u2019s OSIRIS-REx mission is seen shortly after touching down in the desert, Sunday, Sept. 24, 2023, at the Department of Defense\u2019s Utah Test and Training Range. The sample was collected from the asteroid Bennu in October 2020 by NASA\u2019s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft.<\/div>\n
NASA\/Keegan Barber<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Optical navigation uses observations from cameras, lidar, or other sensors to navigate the way humans do. This cutting edge technology works by taking pictures of a target, such as Bennu, and identifying landmarks on the surface. GIANT software \u2013 that\u2019s short for the Goddard Image Analysis and Navigation Tool \u2013 analyzes those images to provide information, such as precise distance to the target, and to develop three-dimensional maps of potential landing zones and hazards. It can also analyze a spinning object to help calculate the target\u2019s mass and determine its center \u2013 critical details to know for a mission trying to enter an orbit.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnboard autonomous optical navigation is an enabling technology for current and future mission ideas and proposals,\u201d said Andrew Liounis, lead developer for GIANT at Goddard. \u201cIt reduces the amount of data that needs to be downlinked to Earth, reducing the cost of communications for smaller missions, and allowing for more science data to be downlinked for larger missions. It also reduces the number of people required to perform orbit determination and navigation on the ground.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"Asteroid<\/figure>
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Asteroid Bennu ejecting particles from its surface on Jan. 19, created by combining two images from NASA\u2019s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft. GIANT optical navigation technology used to process images like these helped establish the size and velocity of the particles. <\/div>\n
NASA \/ Goddard \/ University of Arizona<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

During OSIRIS-REx\u2019s orbit of Bennu, GIANT identified particles flung from the asteroid\u2019s surface. The optical navigation team used images to calculate the particles\u2019 movement and mass, ultimately helping determine they did not pose a significant threat to the spacecraft.<\/p>\n

Since then, lead developer Andrew Liounis said they have refined and expanded GIANT\u2019s backbone collection of software utilities and scripts.<\/p>\n

New GIANT developments include an open-source version of their software released to the public, and celestial navigation for deep space travel by observing stars, the Sun, and solar system objects. They are now working on a slimmed-down package to aid in autonomous operations throughout a mission\u2019s life cycle.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re also looking to use GIANT to process some Cassini data with partners at the University of Maryland in order to study Saturn\u2019s interactions with its moons,\u201d Liounis said.<\/p>\n

Other innovators like Goddard engineer Alvin Yew are adapting the software to potentially aid rovers and human explorers on the surface of the Moon or other planets.<\/p>\n

Adaptation, Improvement<\/strong><\/p>\n

Shortly after OSIRIS-REx left Bennu, Liounis\u2019 team released a refined, open-source version<\/a> for public use. \u201cWe considered a lot of changes to make it easier for the user and a few changes to make it run more efficiently,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

An intern modified their code to make use of a graphics processor for ground-based operations, boosting the image processing at the heart of GIANT\u2019s navigation.<\/p>\n

A simplified version<\/a> called cGIANT works with Goddard\u2019s autonomous Navigation, Guidance, and Control software package, or autoNGC in ways that can be crucial to both small and large missions, Liounis said.<\/p>\n

Liounis and colleague Chris Gnam developed a celestial navigation capability<\/a> which uses GIANT to steer a spacecraft by processing images of stars, planets, asteroids, and even the Sun. Traditional deep space navigation uses the mission\u2019s radio signals to determine location, velocity, and distance from Earth. Reducing a mission\u2019s reliance on NASA\u2019s Deep Space Network frees up a valuable resource shared by many ongoing missions, Gnam said.<\/p>\n

Next on their agenda, the team hopes to develop planning capabilities so mission controllers can develop flight trajectories and orbits within GIANT \u2013 streamlining mission design.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn OSIRIS-REx, it would take up to three months to plan our next trajectory or orbit,\u201d Liounis said. \u201cNow we can reduce that to a week or so of computer processing time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Their innovations have earned the team continuous support from Goddard\u2019s Internal Research and Development program, individual missions, and NASA\u2019s Space Communications and Navigation program.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs mission concepts become more advanced,\u201d Liounis said, \u201coptical navigation will continue to become a necessary component of the navigation toolbox.\u201d<\/p>\n

By Karl B. Hille<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

NASA\u2019s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n

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