Precise landing landmark-based navigation using a Landing Vision System supported by Radar and IMU = Precise landing landmark-based navigation using a Landing Vision System supported by Radar and IMU

In the aerospace field there is a growing need for autonomous and precise landing capabilities, especially for the future colonization of Moon and Mars. Current operational landing systems don’t have strict requirements in terms of landing zone radius. Since they were developed for scientific and exploration purposes, they didn’t need precise landing requirements. With the ambitious goals to build martian and lunar bases in the near future, there is the growing need to precisely land human missions and cargo payloads, close to the base, able to be retrieved by a Rover. The Entry, Descent and Landing (EDL) phase of martian and lunar missions is a complex and critical endeavour. It involves navigating a spacecraft through the challenging transition from interplanetary space to the surface of these celestial bodies. Achieving precise landing in often hazardous terrain is vital for mission success. This master thesis focuses on the development and implementation of the Landing Vision System (LVS), tailored for lunar and Martian missions. The LVS’s primary goal is to provide real-time corrections to the spacecraft’s horizontal (x and y) coordinate estimations. It works in combination with other essential sensors, such as the Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU), which measures accelerations, and the Radar Doppler and Altimeter, providing altitude (z) and speed information in three dimensions (x, y, and z). The LVS aims to reduce horizontal position estimation errors in order to achieve a precise pinpoint landing, with a landing precision of less than 100 meters. This thesis explores the technical aspects of the Landing Vision System, including its underlying principles, design considerations, and practical implementation. It delves into the integration of image processing techniques and data fusion algorithms in the navigation part of the GNC loop, to enable real-time position corrections during the EDL phase. In a time when martian and lunar exploration is becoming increasingly relevant, the Landing Vision System offers a pragmatic solution to enhance the accuracy and safety of planetary landings. This thesis is built on the foundation laid by a study promoted by the Italian Space Agency (ASI) called Mars Moon Landing (MML) as part of a research effort on cutting edge technologies for the aerospace field.