CAPSTONE successfully tested a navigation technology akin to Earth’s GPS for the first time in May, advancing a capability that could help future space missions more efficiently navigate at the Moon. The spacecraft also captured its first images of the Moon, showing the lunar surface near the Moon’s North Pole as CAPSTONE made a close approach to the Moon on May 3.
CAPSTONE, short for Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment, is a microwave oven-sized CubeSat flying a unique, elliptical orbit at the Moon that will be used by Gateway. The test of the mission’s CAPS technology involved two spacecraft: CAPSTONE and NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO). During the May 9 experiment, CAPSTONE sent a signal to LRO designed to measure the distance and relative velocity between the two spacecraft. LRO then returned the signal to CAPSTONE, where it was converted into a measurement. The test proved the ability to collect measurements that will be utilized by CAPS software to determine the positioning of both spacecraft. This capability could provide autonomous onboard navigation information for future lunar missions.
In addition to the successful CAPS test, CAPSTONE achieved another mission objective to fly the near-rectilinear halo orbit for at least six months. This marks the end of the spacecraft’s primary mission, and CAPSTONE will continue flying in the orbit and testing onboard technologies for up to a year during its enhanced mission phase.
Image caption: An image of the Moon captured May 3, 2023, by CAPSTONE, short for Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation, while the spacecraft was near its closest approach to the Moon’s North Pole. The center of the image is approximately located at 25° N, 85° E on the lunar surface. Credits: ©Advanced Space 2023, all rights reserved.