GPS On The Moon
You guessed right, the moon doesn’t have satellites to send GPS signals.It doesn’t have easily recognizable landmarks, Mapquest, and frankly, it’s not a great destination for the average traveler. But, astronauts are going to have to go there, and NASA has set itself a target date of 2020 to get them there.
Ron Li, a professor at Ohio State University, is planning to find a way to help astronauts find their way around the moon and this is not the first time he has faced this kind of challenge. Professor Li is involved in software development for Spirit and Opportunity, the two rovers for Mars. The experience and knowledge gained from the trip to Mars will make it easier for astronauts navigating the lunar surface.
For his efforts, Professor Li is getting $1.2 million over the next three years to develop a navigation system "that will feel a lot like GPS to the astronauts that use it." However, in all likelihood, it will rely on signals from a set of sensors including lunar beacons, stereo cameras, and orbital imaging sensors.
- Consumer Electronics,
- rover ,
- mars ,
- GPS ,
- moon
- Prime Minister's Office Says Blackberry Merely Lost, Not Stolen
- Microsoft Envisions The Next-generation LCD
- New Mac Clones From Offshore
- Cree Expects LED Lighting Production Costs To Drop Fast
- Taiwan DRAM Makers To Completely Phase Out Production At 8" Fabs By 2009
- Polysilicon Spot Price Posts Mild Drop
- NAND Flash Controller Makers See Demand Warming Up
- Kinesis Offers Keyboard Jockeys New Angles
- Smartlet Charging Stations An Idea To Recharge Your Plug-in Hybrid Vehicle
- One Ministry Of Defense Laptop Stolen Every Two Days
- Is Steve Jobs Healthy, Or Not?
- Garmin Nüvi 500 Does Double Navigation Duty
- Solar-cell Power Conversion Requirements Keep Growing
- Nvidia To Bring WHQL-certified PhysX Drivers On August 5th
- Mazda To Unveil Kazamai Crossover Vehicle
- Shrinking The CPU Platform: Intel Goes After SoC Opportunity
- Hynix To Close U.S. Fab
- Major DRAM Makers Pessimistic About Q3 Outlook
