NASA Confirms GPS Signals Acquired on Lunar Surface For First Time

On March 3, NASA made history when the Lunar GNSS Receiver Experiment (LuGRE) became the first technology demonstration to successfully acquire and track Earth-based Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) signals on the Moon’s surface.

The breakthrough represents a significant leap forward in lunar navigation, paving the way for more autonomous space exploration and future missions beyond Earth.

A New Era of Lunar Navigation

The success of LuGRE in lunar orbit and on the Moon’s surface demonstrates that signals from Earth’s GNSS constellations can be received and tracked at a distance of approximately 225,000 miles. This discovery means that NASA’s Artemis missions, along with other lunar and deep-space exploration efforts, could use GNSS signals to autonomously determine position, velocity, and time—just as GPS enables navigation on Earth.

“On Earth, we can use GNSS signals to navigate in everything from smartphones to airplanes...Now, LuGRE shows us that we can successfully acquire and track GNSS signals at the Moon. This is a very exciting discovery for lunar navigation, and we hope to leverage this capability for future missions.” - Kevin Coggins, Deputy Associate Administrator for NASA’s Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) Program.

The Journey to a Historic Achievement

The milestone was achieved as part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative. LuGRE was one of 10 NASA-sponsored payloads delivered to the lunar surface by Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost lander, which touched down on March 2. Shortly after landing, LuGRE payload operators at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, initiated the first science operations, eager to determine if signals from the GPS and Galileo constellations could be acquired and tracked on the Moon.

At 2 a.m. EST on March 3, the moment of confirmation arrived: LuGRE had successfully acquired and tracked GNSS signals on the lunar surface for the first time, securing a navigation fix. The accomplishment confirms that even at such extreme distances, Earth-based navigation systems can extend their reach beyond our planet’s immediate orbit.

Breaking Records and Expanding Possibilities

LuGRE’s achievements extend beyond the Moon’s surface. During its journey, the payload shattered previous GNSS tracking records.

On January 21, it recorded the highest-altitude GNSS signal acquisition ever at 209,900 miles from Earth, surpassing the record held by NASA’s Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission.

As LuGRE reached lunar orbit on February 20 at an altitude of 243,000 miles, it further demonstrated that GNSS signals can support navigation in cislunar space—the region between Earth and the Moon.

Traditionally, NASA has relied on a combination of onboard sensors and signals from ground-based tracking stations to determine the position of spacecraft in deep space. The LuGRE demonstration shows that spacecraft as far as the Moon can autonomously use GNSS signals for navigation, reducing reliance on human-operated tracking systems. This advancement could streamline mission operations and enhance efficiency for future lunar and interplanetary exploration.

Implications for Future Exploration

Now that Blue Ghost is on the Moon, its mission will continue for 14 days, during which NASA and ASI will collect near-continuous data from LuGRE to achieve additional GNSS milestones. This achievement not only enhances lunar navigation capabilities but also marks a major milestone for the Italian Space Agency—the first hardware developed by ASI to reach and operate on the Moon.

The success of LuGRE represents a stepping stone toward establishing robust and autonomous navigation systems for the Moon, Mars, and beyond.