Development of Navigation Doppler Lidar demonstrates precise landing capabilities in planetary missions, indicating significant advancements for space exploration.
A coherent Doppler lidar has been developed by NASA for providing vector velocity and altitude data to landing vehicles. Future robotic and manned missions to planetary bodies demand precise ground-relative velocity and altitude data to execute complex descent maneuvers for safe, soft and pinpoint landing at a pre-designated site. This lidar sensor, referred to as Navigation Doppler Lidar (NDL), transmits three laser beams at different pointing angles toward the ground and measures range and velocity along each beam. The capabilities of NDL were recently demonstrated on the first commercial lunar landing mission. This paper describes the development of NDL for spaceflights, explains its operation onboard landing vehicles, and highlights the results of its recent lunar landing mission.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
Amzajerdian et al. (2026) studied this question.
Synapse has enriched 5 closely related papers on similar clinical questions. Consider them for comparative context: