GPS in Space
I don’t have a lot to add to the literature on GPS in Space, but I do want to mention it briefly as a key enabler for faster roadbots. The problem with rovers today is that they have to communicate with controllers on Earth, and therefore can’t go very far or very fast. If we want to lay down a network of rover tracks on the Moon and Mars for future astronauts to travel along, we will need to accelerate the pace of autonomous rovers.
Here are two examples of teams that are working on GPS in Space, or technologies that are similar in concept - one on Mars and one on the Moon.
Mars:
There is no GPS at the Red Planet, but a new technology called Mars Global Localization lets Perseverance determine precisely where it is — without human help.
Imagine you’re all alone, driving along in a rocky, unforgiving desert with no roads, no map, no GPS, and no more than one phone call a day for someone to inform you exactly where you are. That’s what NASA’s Perseverance rover has been experiencing since landing on Mars five years ago. Though it carries time-tested tools for determining its general location, the rover has needed operators on Earth to tell it precisely where it is — until now.
A new technology developed at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California enables Perseverance to figure out its whereabouts without calling humans for help. Dubbed Mars Global Localization, the technology features an algorithm that rapidly compares panoramic images from the rover’s navigation cameras with onboard orbital terrain maps. Running on a powerful processor that Perseverance originally used to communicate with the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter, the algorithm takes about two minutes to pinpoint the rover’s location within some 10 inches (25 centimeters). Mars Global Localization was first used successfully in regular mission operations on Feb. 2, then again Feb. 16, 2026.
https://phys.org/news/2026-02-mars-gps-perseverance-centimeters.html
Moon:
At Stanford University, Professor Grace Gao’s lab is working on several projects to aid in exploring the Moon. Her lab is designing shoebox-sized satellites that will enable GPS-like navigation. She is also developing an array of autonomous rovers, including a swarm of collaborative mini-rovers, and an endurance rover capable of traveling 2,000 kilometers across a permanently shadowed lunar region.
https://engineering.stanford.edu/news/grace-gao-bringing-gps-and-autonomous-rovers-outer-space
