Date of Award

Winter 2014

Abstract

The Celestial Navigation (CelNav) method was developed in conjunction with NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, to provide accurate location data for extraterrestrial surface navigation without the use of a global positioning system (GPS) or a ground/relay station. CelNav is a minimal sensor/power solution originally developed for static Lunar surface navigation. However, dynamic navigation via CelNav requires high-accuracy state estimates, due to the absence of key sensors such as a gyroscope, GPS, and a magnetometer. In this thesis, robust nonlinear state estimation techniques (the Sliding Mode Observer, the Extended Kalman Filter, and the H-Infinity Filter) are used with CelNav to accurately determine dynamic latitude, longitude, and heading, for an unmanned/manned rover or astronaut. The goal is to investigate the feasibility of implementing a nonlinear estimation technique with CelNav for dynamic extraterrestrial surface navigation when accurate location coordinates are necessary. Preliminary results show that this research shows promise as a secondary dynamic navigation system for future extraterrestrial exploration.

First Advisor

May-Win L Thein

Second Advisor

Barry Fussell

Third Advisor

Michael J Carter

Department or Program

Mechanical Engineering

Degree Name

Master of Science

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