NASA has reported a California drone demonstration of technology for selecting safe landing sites. During simulated lunar descent, the SPLICE payload mapped terrain and assessed candidate areas, with guidance designed to divert the aircraft from a hazardous target. The flight took place in August after earlier integration tests, as part of preparations for future planetary landing systems.
The US space agency NASA reported a drone demonstration of autonomous landing technology on 4 November. Its safe-landing project, SPLICE, flew aboard an Alta-X drone during simulated lunar descent and landing manoeuvres on 27 August. The flight took place at Rogers Dry Lake near Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. The demonstration tested the system on Earth as part of work on future planetary landings.[1], [2]
The payload combines guidance, navigation and control. Sensor data are used to generate high-resolution digital elevation maps and assess candidate landing areas. When the target is judged unsafe, the guidance system diverts the aircraft to a safer location. Researchers at Johnson Space Center, NASA’s centre in Houston, developed the payload and worked with Armstrong specialists to integrate it with the drone.[1]
SPLICE brings several sensors together with a dedicated landing computer. Doppler lidar uses laser beams to determine speed and altitude from around 10 kilometres above the surface. A separate hazard-detection lidar maps rocks and slopes in three dimensions from around 500 metres. Terrain-relative navigation compares live camera images with orbital maps, helping establish the vehicle’s location during descent.[2]
The landing computer chooses a safe spot within an area around 100 metres across. Guidance software computes a fuel-efficient route and can redirect the vehicle toward a newly chosen target. Those functions combine locating the aircraft, recognising hazards and updating its path as it approaches the ground. Rocks and steep slopes are among the hazards the system is designed to identify.[2]
Integration work, ground tests and flights in June and July checked communications, data handling, telemetry and command functions between payload and aircraft. NASA project manager Davis Adams describes the demonstration as a stage in nearly a decade of development. Earlier work tested a descent altitude and landing-like trajectory in 2019, followed by demonstrations of two precision-landing sensors in 2020. Preparations also include a larger-scale test in Mojave, California.[1]
NASA says industry discussions cover using the guidance software through its software catalogue. Some companies are evaluating precision landing and autonomous surface mobility applications. Those are development goals alongside the demonstrated drone flight.[1], [2]
