Lunar Node 1 Navigation Demonstrator (LN-1)¶

IM-1 · landed · NASA payload

A CubeSat-sized S-band radio beacon, about 2.8 kg, with a chip-scale atomic clock. It sent navigation and timing signals to Earth (MAPS packets and one-way ranging codes) to test how surface beacons could help landers, rovers and crews find their position on the Moon.

PI: Evan Anzalone (NASA Marshall); co-investigator Tamara Statham
Built by: NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (NASA center)


Technology	navigation beacon (positioning, navigation and timing)
Moon Base need	#0101 (The study's reading. NASA's gap #0101 does not name LN-1, but LN-1 tests surface beacons and timing for positioning on the Moon, the subject of #0101 and of the guide's timing challenge.)
Route onto CLPS	NPLP; NASA-Provided Lunar Payloads, SMD's 2019 request to NASA centers: one of two technology demonstrations on the 21 February 2019 list. Assigned to Intuitive Machines' first delivery (TO2-IM); NASA's January 2020 manifest lists it.; 2019-02-21
Timeline	first funding 2013 (MAPS algorithm, GCD); LN-1 itself from 2019 (NPLP; flight radio ordered August 2019); first flight test 2018 (MAPS software on the ISS; no flight of LN-1 hardware); selected 2019-02-21; launch 2024-02-15; landing 2024-02-22
On the Moon	partly operated
FO	none

Flights before the Moon¶

aircraft (not FO): Low-altitude unmanned vehicles (not named), not in public sources. The MAPS navigation algorithm only, in limited tests before 2018. Not the LN-1 hardware.

"Although this algorithm has been tested in ground hardware and limited testing on low altitude unmanned vehicles"
— NTRS 20180006398, section II.A

ISS or MISSE: SCaN Testbed outside the International Space Station (Software-driven Navigation for Station experiment, Marshall), 2018-06 to 2018-07. The MAPS navigation software and a pseudolite signal, sent from the testbed's radio to the ground. Only the software flew, not the LN-1 hardware. NASA's 2020 manifest says LN-1 'has flown on the space station'.

"These technologies were implemented on the SCaN Testbed onboard the International Space Station and exercised over the course of mid-June and late-July 2018."
— NTRS 20180006398, abstract

"MAPS was successfully tested on the International Space Station in 2018"
— NASA to Demonstrate Autonomous Navigation System on Moon - NASA

"It has flown on the space station and is being developed at NASA Marshall."
— First Commercial Moon Delivery Assignments to Advance Artemis - NASA

Heritage hardware¶

commercial instrument (CubeSat parts): Built from commercial off-the-shelf CubeSat parts: a Tethers Unlimited SWIFT-SLX S-band radio, a space-rated chip-scale atomic clock and an Actel FPGA.

"LN-1's design leverages Cubesat components as well as the Multi-spacecraft Autonomous Positioning System (MAPS) algorithms"
— NTRS 20210018099, abstract

"as well as the Tethers Unlimited SWIFT-SLX S-band radio"
— NTRS 20240012274, section on Lunar Node 1

design heritage (software): The MAPS software flew on the ISS in 2018 (see flights_before).

"LN-1 relies on networked computer navigation software known as MAPS"
— NASA to Demonstrate Autonomous Navigation System on Moon - NASA

Funding before the lunar flight¶

SMD NASA-Provided Lunar Payloads (the payload's own funding) (SMD NPLP; from 2019): amount not in public sources

"Funding provided by NASA-provided Lunar Payloads from NASA/SMD"
— NTRS 20240012274, Acknowledgments

Earlier work on the MAPS navigation algorithm that LN-1 uses: Marshall project 'Multi-use Autonomous Positioning System' (TechPort 116356; another PI, Kevin Kempton) (STMD Game Changing Development; 2013-10 to 2015-08): amount not in public sources

"This is achieved by embedding navigation data into the digital communication packets being sent between assets"
— TechPort project 116356, description

Flight radio for LN-1, bought from Tethers Unlimited (the SWIFT-SLX S-band radio). Linked by the award description. (NASA purchase order 80NSSC19P1750; 2019-08-07 to 2021-02-28): $215,927

"1 LUNAR PAYLOAD PURCHASE OF FLIGHT RADIO FOR NAV DEMO. FOR LUNAR NODE"
— USAspending.gov, award 80NSSC19P1750, description; amount 215927.0

Matching ground radio from Tethers Unlimited, for ground testing. Linked by the award description. (NASA purchase order 80NSSC21P2102; 2021-07-16 to 2022-06-30): $247,300

"PROCUREMENT OF GROUND RADIO TO MATCH LUNAR NODE - 1 LUNAR PAYLOAD FOR GROUND TESTING"
— USAspending.gov, award 80NSSC21P2102, description; amount 247300.0

Deep Space Network services from JPL (Caltech) for the LN-1 mission. Operations support that runs through the flight, not hardware. Linked by the award description. (NASA task order 80NM0020F0057; 2020-06-25 to 2024-03-31): $638,821

"INTERPLANETARY NETWORK SERVICES IN SUPPORT OF THE LUNAR NODE-1 MISSION"
— USAspending.gov, award 80NM0020F0057, description; amount 638821.0

Ground testing support from Morehead State University. Linked by the award description. (NASA purchase order 80NSSC22P0183; 2021-11-17 to 2023-11-30): $37,863

"GROUND TESTING SUPPORT FOR LUNAR NODE-1"
— USAspending.gov, award 80NSSC22P0183, description; amount 37863.0

Multi-layer insulation installed on LN-1 by Aerothreads. Linked by the award description. (NASA purchase order 80NSSC20P0670; 2020-02-25 to 2020-05-05): $14,565

"INSTALLATION AND LABOR FOR MULTI-LAYER INSULATION FOR THE LUNAR NODE -1 PAYLOAD"
— USAspending.gov, award 80NSSC20P0670, description; amount 14564.8

How it got onto CLPS¶

"The Lunar Node 1 Navigation Demonstrator will demonstrate a navigational beacon to assist with geolocation for lunar orbiting spacecraft and landers."
— NASA Selects Experiments for Possible Lunar Flights in 2019 - NASA

"Funding provided by NASA-provided Lunar Payloads from NASA/SMD"
— NTRS 20240012274, Acknowledgments

"Lunar Node 1 Navigation Demonstrator (LN-1): LN-1 is a CubeSat-sized experiment that will demonstrate autonomous navigation"
— First Commercial Moon Delivery Assignments to Advance Artemis - NASA, 22 Jan 2020

On the Moon¶

LN-1 transmitted to the Deep Space Network almost daily in transit. On the surface the lander, on its side and short of power, allowed only two passes, on 27 and 28 February, of about 15 minutes each, instead of continuous operation for 7 to 8 days. The team calls this a minimum level of success: the payload survived and returned MAPS and one-way ranging data from the surface.

"LN-1 transmitted to DSN almost daily during lunar transit and during two surface passes."
— NTRS 20240012274, abstract

"Due to power constraints, each pass was limited to about 15 minutes each. This represented a minimum level of success"
— NTRS 20240012274, section 2

FO's role¶

Grade: none. No FO project, flight or report mentions LN-1, MAPS or the Marshall team. The study's earlier traceback grade (none found) stands.

"No FO record or report names SCALPSS, ROLSES, LN-1, the retroreflectors"
— earlier finding of this study (not a public source)

Who built it¶

"LN-1 was developed, built, and tested at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama."
— NASA to Demonstrate Autonomous Navigation System on Moon - NASA

"Payload Principal Investigator: Dr. Evan Anzalone, NASA Marshall Space Flight Center"
— NASA press kit, Commercial Lunar Payload Services Intuitive Machines IM-1 Mission

Moon Base need¶

"Absolute and relative positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) for crew and surface assets"
— Moon to Mars knowledge base: ESDMD #0101: Positioning, Navigation, and Timing for Lunar Surface Extreme Environments, summary

"Timing systems must be capable of providing precise real time synchronization between assets on the lunar surface with low latency and drift."
— Moon to Mars knowledge base: Moon Base technology and knowledge challenges, Associated challenges, Timing systems

"What we seek to deliver is a lunar network of lighthouses"
— NASA to Demonstrate Autonomous Navigation System on Moon - NASA

Open questions¶

LN-1's total development cost under NPLP: not in public sources. The awards found are parts and services only.
Which unmanned vehicles tested the MAPS algorithm before 2018, and when? Not in public sources.
Did the Tethers Unlimited SWIFT-SLX radio grow out of the company's NASA SBIR work on SWIFT radios? Not shown in public sources.