The US Space Agency's NASA is developing a sophisticated backpack that astronauts can use to map the surface of the Moon.
Fortunately for making this backpack, NASA collaborated with Torch Technologies and Aeva. Where they developed a mapping system technology called Kinematic Navigation and Cartography Knapsack (KNaCK) which utilizes mobile lidar scanner technology.
Lidar, or Light Detection and Ranging, is used to create very high-resolution maps in realtime as astronauts walk on the lunar surface. This backpack can record millions of dots per second, and can also be used as a means of navigation as astronauts and rovers walk on the lunar surface.
KNaCK is expected to be used on the Artemis mission, which will be the first crewed moon landing mission since 1972. Artemis itself is scheduled to fly no later than May 2022.
For now the mapping equipment is in the form of a backpack, but NASA plans to make it smaller so that it can be attached to an astronaut's helmet, as quoted by Digital Trends, Friday (22/4/2022).
In the Artemis mission, KNaCK is also expected to have a very big role, because the astronauts will explore the South Pole of the Moon, which has always been covered by a dark shadow and difficult to see from Earth.
"Basically, this sensor is used as a survey tool for navigational mapping and science, and can create super-high resolution 3D maps with centimeter-level accuracy and can provide a rich scientific context," said Dr. Michael Zanetti, KNaCK project leader at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center.
"It will also ensure the safety of astronauts and rover vehicles in non-GPS environments such as the Moon, identify the actual distance from landmarks and show the distance traveled by the rover in real time and how much less it must travel to reach its destination," Zanetti added.
According to Zanetti, humans usually use buildings as a benchmark for distance and orientation. But objects like this do not exist on the Moon, and this is what the KNaCK technology is trying to solve.
Even astronauts can mark certain areas, for example if they find a location with unique minerals or rock formations. So that other people can find the location easily to continue their studies.
Currently the KNaCK prototype has been tested in a volcanic crater in New Mexico, also used to reconstruct a 6 mile sand dune at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, USA.
