LuGRE receiver captures GNSS signals in lunar orbit

The LuGRE receiver acquired and tracked GPS and Galileo satellite signals in lunar orbit on Feb. 19, operating at 63 Earth radii (approximately 401,814 km from Earth). Developed by Qascom for the Italian Space Agency in collaboration with NASA and supported by Politecnico di Torino, the receiver is integrated into Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost 1 lander as part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services program.

During the lander’s lunar transit, LuGRE tracked signals in the L1/E1 and L5/E5 frequency bands. The farthest signal detected came from the Galileo constellation at 67.79 Earth radii (approximately 432,384 km from the receiver). The experiment demonstrated GNSS functionality near the Moon, where the lander orbited approximately 1.66 km/s1.

Despite the challenges of distance and velocity, the receiver achieved position accuracy within 1.5 km and velocity accuracy within 2 m/s. It successfully acquired signals from four GPS satellites (L1 and L5 frequencies) and one Galileo satellite (E1-E5 bands) during a one-hour observation window. Post-landing, LuGRE will attempt to receive GNSS signals on the lunar surface for 14 days.