NASA drone completes SPLICE simulated lunar landing test flight

At Rogers Dry Lake in Edwards, California, NASA completed a simulated lunar descent and landing maneuver using an Alta-X drone carrying the SPLICE guidance, navigation and control payload. The SPLICE payload maps the terrain and evaluates landing zones; when it determines the target area is unsafe, it diverts to a safer location, and it generates high-resolution digital elevation maps from light detection and sensor data. The test flight also validated communications, data processing, telemetry and command-and-control performance between the SPLICE payload and the drone, preparing for a full-scale test later this month at Voyager Technologies in Mojave, California. NASA said it is coordinating with industry on use of the system after it enters the NASA software catalog, with the catalog launch currently planned for the fall.

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