Position Estimation Using Crater-based Linear Features for Pinpoint Lunar Landing

Abstract

Next generation moon landing mission will require autonomous pinpoint landing capability because of requirements for landing on specific terrains in a limited area. This capability requires precise absolute self-localization of the lander during braking descent phase. The purpose of this paper is to propose an algorithm to estimate the lander position and to evaluate its mountability to a space-grade FPGA. In this method, the position estimation is performed by matching crater point patterns with database point patterns by finding topological correspondences using crater-based linear features. In addition, we confirmed the resource amount and the calculation time when this algorithm is implemented on the FPGA using high-level synthesis.