LAPS: the development of a scanning lidar system with GNC for autonomous hazard avoidance and precision landing

Jean de Lafontaine; Arkady Ulitsky; Jeffrey W. Tripp; Robert Richards; Michael Daly; Christian Sallaberger

doi:10.1117/12.555421

1 September 2004 LAPS: the development of a scanning lidar system with GNC for autonomous hazard avoidance and precision landing

Jean de Lafontaine, Arkady Ulitsky, Jeffrey W. Tripp, Robert Richards, Michael Daly, Christian Sallaberger

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 5418, Spaceborne Sensors; (2004) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.555421
Event: Defense and Security, 2004, Orlando, Florida, United States

Abstract

Future planetary exploration missions will aim at landing a spacecraft in hazardous regions of a planet, thereby requiring an ability to autonomously avoid surface obstacles and land at a safe site. Landing safety is defined in terms of the local topography-slope relative to gravity and surface roughness-and landing dynamics, requireing an impact velocity lower than a given tolerance. In order to meet these challenges, a LIDAR-based Autonomous Planetary landing System (LAPS) was developed, combining the three-dimensional cartographic capabilities of the LIDAR with autonomous 'intelligent' software for interpreting the data and for guiding the Lander to the safe site. This paper provides an overview of the LAPS ability to detect obstacles, identify a safe site and support the navigation of the Lander to the detected safe site. It also demonstrates the performance of the system using real LIDAR data taken over a physical emulation of a Mars terrain.

Citation Download Citation

Jean de Lafontaine, Arkady Ulitsky, Jeffrey W. Tripp, Robert Richards, Michael Daly, and Christian Sallaberger "LAPS: the development of a scanning lidar system with GNC for autonomous hazard avoidance and precision landing", Proc. SPIE 5418, Spaceborne Sensors, (1 September 2004); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.555421

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