Human Interactive Landing Point Redesignation for Lunar Landing

Abstract

In order to achieve safe and precise landings anywhere on the lunar surface without the heavy involvement of mission operations required during Apollo, an autonomous flight manager (AFM) is needed to assist the crew in managing the landing mission. An essential algorithm within the AFM is the landing point redesignation (LPR) function, which determines a prioritized list of safe and precise points in the landing region from which the crew can select a landing aimpoint. The LPR function described in this paper is flexible enough to support a variety of missions and situations by allowing an operator to reach-in and modify parameters prior to and throughout the landing.