NASA develops backpack to help astronauts map the Moon

The KNaCK backpack uses lidar technology to help astronauts navigate the Moon, while creating detailed maps in real time.

NASA partnered with companies Torch Technologies and Aeva to develop a remote sensing mapping system called the Kinematic Navigation and Mapping Balo (KNaCK), which uses mobile lidar scanning technology to generate maps has extremely high resolution in real time as astronauts walk on the surface of the Moon, Digital Trends reported on April 21.

Michael Zanetti, a scientist at NASA, tests the KNaCK backpack prototype in New Mexico, USA, at the end of 2021.

The new instrument is capable of collecting millions of measurement points per second and can also be used for navigation, thereby increasing the safety of astronauts traveling on the Moon, whether on foot or in rover. It was developed for Artemis, the first crewed program to land on the Moon since 1972. The kit currently comes in the form of a backpack weighing 18 kg, but the scientists plan to shrink it down to attach to a helmet. astronaut insurance.

KNaCK will play an important role in Moon missions because astronauts need to explore areas with poor visibility, such as the south pole, where the Sun never rises more than 3 degrees above the horizon. leaving much of the place in perpetual darkness.

"Basically, KNaCK is a surveying tool for both navigation and scientific mapping, which can create 3D maps with extremely high resolution and centimeter-level accuracy," said Dr. Michael Zanetti, Ph. planetary scientist, KNaCK project leader at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center.

"The new device will also help ensure the safety of astronauts and rovers in GPS-deficient environments such as the Moon, determining the actual distances to distant landmarks and showing them to explorers. How far have we come and how far we are from the finish line," he added.

Humans tend to use landmarks like buildings and trees for orientation, but those don't exist on the Moon so KNaCK would be very useful, according to Zanetti. Astronauts can even mark the place where they found a unique mineral or rock so that others can easily go and do more research.

Engineers have experimented with using the KNaCK prototype to map an ancient crater in New Mexico and reconstruct a 3D version of the approximately 10 km long stretch of seawall sand dunes at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The team is working on miniaturizing the hardware and making it robust enough to handle the challenges of microgravity and solar radiation.