Lunar Crater Identification using Triangle Reprojection
Author(s)
Thrasher, Ava C.
Molina, Giovanni
Hansen, Michael
Pelgrift, John Y.
Nelson, Derek S.
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Abstract
Image-based terrain relative navigation is a critical capability for future lunar exploration
missions. Images of the lunar surface containing craters can be compared
to on-board maps to identify craters and estimate the spacecraft position. While
there are many ways to accomplish the crater identification task, this work explores
a method using triangulation and crater triangle pattern projections. Specifically, potential
matching crater patterns from the catalog and image are used to triangulate
the spacecraft position, allowing for construction of line-of-sight directions to the
potential matching catalog craters. The projection of these directions in the image
can be compared to the observed craters to accept or reject the match hypothesis.
In this paper, we demonstrate the algorithm's capability in handling various types
of input errors and what tolerances can be tuned to achieve a desired performance.
Additionally, an initial look at flight software implementation is included.
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Date
2023-08
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Text
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