Workshop on JAXA Astrodynamics and Flight Mechanics, 2009 (July 30-31, 2009. Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS), Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)), Sagamihara, Kanagawa Japan
We propose an image navigation method for the orbital phase and the powered descent phase of the future lunar and planetary explorers. DEMs are made onboard by using time-series stereoscopic pair images of the lunar or planetary surface taken by the optical camera(s) installed on the explorer. The explorer decides its location by matching the onboard DEMs to the reference DEMs acquired in advance.Despite initial navigation errors, or bias errors of the inertial measurement unit, we can obtain the position accuracy equivalent to the image resolution by using this navigation method. We show that this navigation method can be executed by existing or near-future onboard computers and that it has good properties in navigation performance and robustness.
DEM matching image navigation by motion stereo for the future lunar and planetary explorers
