MAPPING THE MOON: CHALLENGES FOR FUTURE FIELD-BASED PLANETARY GEOLOGIC MAPPING

Geologic mapping is crucial for basic surveying and characterizing geologic resources. Future crewed missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond will require the ability to conduct field-based geologic mapping by geologists for long-term exploration.

The Moon provides several key challenges to conducting field geology with regards to navigation and measuring the orientation of geologic features. The Moon lacks a geomagnetic field, rendering magnetic compasses ineffective for navigation, and a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS/GPS) system. Apollo astronaut crews on the Moon integrated orbital imagery maps, foot and tire tracks, and an inertial navigation system on the

Lunar Rover, including an odometer and gyroscopic compass for navigation and orienteering. The Apollo 14 mission demonstrated the challenges of lunar navigation when the crew failed to reach the rim of their main geologic target, Cone Crater. Lunar Module Pilot Ed Mitchell reported, “The time lost in attempting to determine our exact position for collecting samples in order to satisfy the geologists, cost us significant time.” More precise navigation and orienteering for future human lunar surface missions will require innovative technologies.

To circumvent these limitations, we are developing navigation and geologic tools for lunar exploration, integrating lessons-learned from Apollo and Earth-based analogs, e.g., Desert RATS (e.g., Young et al., 2013). Advances in miniaturization and microfabrication have led to increasing sensitive devices that can be integrated into a handheld unit capable of integrating navigation data using radio direction finding, inertial navigation accelerometers, gyroscopic compasses, and celestial navigation (star cameras). The applications of such a system extend beyond human space missions into GNSS/GPS–denied environments (subterranean environments, military applications) and navigational measurements in conditions that may locally interfere Earth’s magnetic field (in vehicles, urban search-and-rescue).