What’s lidar good for? Turns out, for many vehicles, including a future Moon robotic lander.
Aside from its use in some Earthbound vehicle models, including Waymo robotaxis (but not Teslas, so far), lidar is on track to help detect hazards like craters, boulders and rough terrain during a future quick descent to the lunar surface.
On Tuesday, MDA Space UK, based in Didcot, UK, announced its advanced 3D sensing LEIA lidar technology has received a pre-authorization-to-proceed contract to deliver critical lunar landing sensors for the Argonaut spacecraft, delivering cargo and scientific instruments to the Moon in support of NASA’s Artemis program. A full contract is anticipated, the company said, and would allow MDA Space UK to supply two flight units of its lidar sensor for the inaugural Argonaut mission to the Moon. It would touch down under current projections as early as 2031.
The Argonaut robotic lander is a project of the European Space Agency in coordination with NASA. The uncrewed descent element is slated to launch as early as 2030 atop an Ariane 64 rocket. Separately, NASA has updated its timeline for a crewed landing on the Moon as part of the Artemis IV mission as early as 2028.
Argonaut will transport cargo and instruments to the Moon in support of an expected sustained lunar presence. It represents Europe’s first independent lunar landing capability. MDA Space’s pre-authorization is with OHB System AG, which is appointed by the ESA to provide three critical subsystems for Argonaut, including guidance, navigation and control.
The LEIA lidar sensor system will be central to Argonaut’s hazard detection and avoidance system. It will enable Argonaut to identify and navigate surface hazards during the relatively short descent to the lunar surface. It uses 3D scanning lidar to generate real-time terrain maps, which the spacecraft will use to autonomously select a safe landing site.
MDA Space argues that, unlike camera-based systems, LEIA provides “fast and precise mapping regardless of lighting conditions” which will enhance landing safety for a successful mission. The sensor uses an adaptive scan pattern that is able to compensate for motion of the lander, cover a 40-degree field of view in five seconds. It is small in size compared to other lidar systems used in space.
UK Space Minister Liz Lloyd called the selection of MDA Space for the Argonaut mission a “testament to Britain’s growing leadershin in lunar technology and exploration.”
MDA Space is also a member of the Lunar Dawn team that NASA selected to start development of a Moon rover for use by astronauts as part of the Artemis mission. Its lidar sensors are used in the International Space Station to help instruments grab payloads accurately and they work in combination with vision systems.
While Waymo uses lidar to help guide its robotaxis in Phoenix and Los Angeles and other cities, Tesla still eschews the technology in its production vehicles, although it has purchased lidar units from Luminar for testing and development. Tesla’s self-driving initiatives like consumer Full Self Driving and its expanding robotaxi services are still camera-based. At one point, CEO Elon Musk called lidar a “fool’s errand” and “expensive and unnecessary.” Officials at Tesla have compared the use of camera sensors in vehicles to the way humans sense the world with their eyes.