Autonomous landmark based spacecraft navigation system

Abstract

An autonomous landmark based spacecraft navigation scheme is presented. This new scheme involves the following data processing steps: image selection and planning; landmark (crater) detection; preliminary image matching; crater matching; data base management; and finally landmark based orbit determination. This is the first truly autonomous landmark based navigation system. Compared with the conventional method, which was used for NEAR mission operations, this system is faster (>100 times faster), more reliable and more accurate. The system has been successfully tested on the 200 km NEAR orbit imagery. In this test, 100 m accuracy was obtained after an hour of processing, which required several weeks of processing using manual crater detection and matching.