MITM13

Interplanetary missions rely heavily on precise navigation techniques to achieve their scientific objectives. As future space missions increasingly aim for autonomous, precise, and reliable navigation beyond Earth-based tracking infrastructure, innovative onboard navigation techniques and advanced instrumentation become essential. Quantum inertial sensors, optical clocks, and deep-space GNSS are among the most promising technologies for improving spacecraft navigation across the solar system and on planetary surfaces.
This session will explore recent advancements in quantum inertial sensors, emphasizing the applications of emerging quantum technology such as cold-atom interferometry-based quantum accelerometers and gyroscopes. These quantum inertial sensors significantly reduce drift and improve onboard trajectory estimation, offering an improved navigation accuracy compared to classical inertial navigation systems. We will also examine optical clocks, which leverage quantum technology to achieve exceptional timekeeping precision. Their sensitivity to slight gravity variations enables novel space navigation applications, including precise positioning and trajectory corrections in deep space.
Additionally, the session will discuss the feasibility of deep-space GNSS, including recent demonstrations that extend GNSS signals into cis-lunar space and their potential applications for future lunar and Mars missions. Other alternative navigation techniques, such as pulsar- based navigation—which utilizes stable millisecond pulsar signals as beacons independent of Earth-based tracking stations—will also be considered.
Furthermore, the session will welcome discussions on hybrid navigation solutions, integrating quantum inertial sensors, optical clocks, deep-space GNSS, and other emerging techniques to develop comprehensive, autonomous, and highly precise navigation systems. Contributions related to modern navigation techniques for planetary surface rovers are also within the scope of this session.
The session will include, but not be limited to, the above mentioned navigation methods. The discussion will outline the challenges, integration strategies, and anticipated timelines for adopting these innovative navigation technologies, thus facilitating future missions and enabling new scientific and exploratory opportunities throughout the solar system.