The Spanish technology company, GMV, has outlined LUPIN, a navigation device that is a moon analogue to GPS and makes missions easier for lunar rovers and astronauts. LUPIN is an ESA initiative that uses positioning, navigation and timing technologies to support the growing interest in lunar research for scientific, mining and future tourism.

“With this software, we bring Europe closer to establishing a presence of humans on the moon and, potentially, this would be a stepping stone towards Mars exploration or human presence on Mars,” said Steven Kay, the project’s director.

GMV tested LUPIN’s prototype on Fuerteventura, Spain, an island with a landscape that closely resembles the Moon’s locale. Unlike the current approaches, which rely on outdated, error-prone signals from Earth, LUPIN uses real time signals from satellites orbiting the Moon to achieve immediate tracking of locations. This reduces the problems due to far distance communication links and the recessed parts of the moon where there is constant shadow, which hinders clear view from earth.

“Communication depends on direct visibility with Earth or the use of relay satellites in lunar orbit, which create communicative shadow zones and latency times that hinder immediate decision-making,” GMV stated.

LUPIN integrates existing lunar maps with satellite data to navigate challenging areas like the lunar South Pole and the shadowed “far side.” This enables safer, faster mapping of the moon’s surface, which is critical for future missions.

“We want these rovers to map the surface of the moon in a fast and safe way so that astronauts can return in a few years, work there and set up permanent bases,” said Mariella Graziano, GMV’s head of strategy.

Through its capacity to provide accurate at the moment navigation, LUPIN facilitates the development of sustainable lunar colonies, and reinforces Europe’s space ambition, which could see missions to Mars.