Will There Be a Solar System Navigation System for Space Travel?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the potential development of a navigation system for the Solar System, akin to GPS on Earth, to facilitate autonomous and manned space travel. Participants explore the feasibility of such systems for missions to Mars and the role of existing spacecraft as reference points for navigation.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant questions whether a Solar Positioning System (SPS) could be developed for navigation within the Solar System, similar to GPS on Earth.
  • Another participant mentions that current deep-space navigation relies on precision DSN ranging, which serves a similar purpose to GPS.
  • There is ongoing work on optical navigation to reduce the load on the Deep Space Network (DSN).
  • Some discussions exist regarding the deployment of a GPS system for the Moon, but the demand for such a system is currently deemed insufficient.
  • A participant speculates that as the number of rovers on Mars increases, a GPS-like system could enhance collaboration among ground vehicles, possibly integrating AI for navigation.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express various viewpoints on the feasibility and current state of Solar System navigation systems, indicating that multiple competing views remain without a consensus on the topic.

Contextual Notes

There are limitations regarding the current demand for a Moon GPS system and the potential complexities involved in developing a Solar System navigation system. Some references provided were found to be inaccessible.

happyhacker
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Earth has GPS, GNSS and more I guess. Will there (eventually) be a Navigation system for our Solar system so that autonomous (and manned) flights can move around like we do in our vehicles with an onscreen map. Not trying to be fanciful here just wondered if there are discussions or papers. I assume any trip to Mars say would have a system onboard in case of emergencies like lost Earth contact. And not trying to get to the Stars but I guess that is a different e.g. pulsar method when having left the Solar system behind but only mentioned it as any Solar Positioning System (SPS) might signal for that purpose as the 'Home' coordinate. Also wondered if existing Spacecraft orbiting planetary bodies by default act as reference points. Did iSearch but not anything really obvious there. Thanks.
 
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Currently deep-space navigation utilize precision DSN ranging as equivalent to GPS.
Work is ongoing on optical navigation
https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/session_3_-4_ spacecraft _navigation_using_optical_astrometry_ranging_tomas_martin-mur_0.pdf

to reduce DSN loads.

Also, some talks do exist to deploy Moon GPS, but currently seems simply not enough demand to consider it seriously.
 
Thanks. The ref you gave (below) it seems they've pulled it. Never mind. I wonder if when the number of rovers on site say Mars gets significant then a GPS system (or equivalent In the orbiting control MRO?) would help ground vehicles collaborate (in an AI context). And of course anything orbiting could be part of a wider Nav system. Complex stuff I guess and futuristic.

404 The cosmic object you are looking for has disappeared beyond the event horizon.
 
You are kind. Why didn't I think of that!
 
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