Opportunistic Use of Communication Architectures to Augment Orbital PNT Systems for Lunar Surface Navigation

Evan Anzalone, Richard Reinhart, Karl Vaden, Cheryl Gramling, Juan Crenshaw, Ted Kenny, Brian Lewis, Jacob Sullivan, Louis Nicoli, Paul Lane

Abstract:	To enable safe, precise, and robust navigation on the Lunar surface, it is important to take advantage of all relevant aspects of an operational architecture. The baseline architecture for surface navigation is built around the usage of Lunar orbital assets that provide LunaNet-compatible position, navigation, and timing (PNT) signals and data, such as broadcast and Point-to-Point services, integrated with onboard sensors. To complement this system, the surface-deployed communications infrastructure may provide opportunistic navigation measurements. The potential for these surface networks to support PNT functions was incorporated into a trade that evaluated implementations for cross-user voice and data exchanges on the surface of the Moon. The study team evaluated a range of techniques for utilization of surface communication networks to aid PNT. This included a review of the scope of the navigation applications currently included in these networks, their maturity, and demonstrated results. The techniques were evaluated in terms of the make-up of the network, comparing an independent vehicle-centric network (i.e. each is interoperable, but not directly linked) versus a coordinated network of networks with the ability for time synchronization with the orbital assets. The technologies were evaluated across four scenarios based on the potential maturity of implementation and network deployments to augment navigation. The results identify key techniques, such as two-way ranging-capable networks utilizing tightly synchronized timing, that can offer early capability to provide the surface user with a measurement of its distance to a known asset. Similarly, the use of multi-antenna systems may offer the inherent ability for either the base station to determine a heading to the user, or vice versa. The conclusions were used to inform the current Moon to Mars baselines as well as continue to be assessed in field testing and simulation to provide additional guidance and recommendations for the deployment and implementation of Lunar surface communication networks in the short and longer terms and its PNT interactions.
Published in:	Proceedings of the 57th Annual Precise Time and Time Interval Systems and Applications Meeting January 26 - 29, 2026 Hyatt Regency Orange County Anaheim, California
Pages:	142 - 161
Cite this article:	Anzalone, Evan, Reinhart, Richard, Vaden, Karl, Gramling, Cheryl, Crenshaw, Juan, Kenny, Ted, Lewis, Brian, Sullivan, Jacob, Nicoli, Louis, Lane, Paul, "Opportunistic Use of Communication Architectures to Augment Orbital PNT Systems for Lunar Surface Navigation," Proceedings of the 57th Annual Precise Time and Time Interval Systems and Applications Meeting, Anaheim, California, January 2026, pp. 142-161. https://doi.org/10.33012/2026.20492
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