NASA Achieves First GPS Signal Acquisition on the Moon
The Lunar GNSS Receiver Experiment successfully tracked Earth-based navigation signals, marking a major milestone for future lunar and deep-space exploration.
- NASA and the Italian Space Agency's LuGRE experiment demonstrated the ability to acquire and track GNSS signals on the Moon for the first time on March 3, 2025.
- Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost lunar lander delivered the LuGRE payload to the Moon's surface on March 2 as part of NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative.
- The experiment achieved a navigation fix approximately 225,000 miles from Earth, breaking previous records for the farthest GNSS signal acquisition in space.
- LuGRE's success paves the way for autonomous navigation in future Artemis missions and other lunar exploration efforts, reducing reliance on Earth-based tracking systems.
- This mission also marked the first deployment of Italian Space Agency-developed hardware on the Moon, with plans to make the data publicly available for global benefit.
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