Startup aims to be first Aussie company to reach the Moon

Australian AI robotics company Advanced Navigation has announced an ambition to be the first Australian company to reach the Moon in 2024.

The company aims to fulfil this ambition through the development of two unique navigation systems, which will be used in partnership with US-based Intuitive Machines to help explore the lunar surface.

These are the Boreas X90, an inertial navigation system that enables positioning and navigation capable of maintaining extreme precision without using relatively fixed references or requiring base station control telemetry, as well as the light detection altimetry and velocimetry (LiDAV) system.

The LiDAV uses lasers to measure a wide range of parameters detailing a vehicle’s environment — including indicating the vehicle’s velocity and position relative to the lunar surface in three dimensions with extreme accuracy and precision.

“The team is absolutely thrilled to see years of research and development progress into successful technology. We look forward to being the first Australian company to reach the Moon in 2024; this will be a huge milestone for us,” Advanced Navigation CEO Xavier Orr said.

Advanced Navigation has partnered with Intuitive Machines to support the latter’s three planned lunar lander missions. The missions will seek to deliver at least two lunar communication relay satellites by 2025.

Intuitive Machines CTO Dr Tim Crain said lightweight precision navigation technologies like the two developed by Advanced Navigation will be critical to delivering science and technology payloads to the lunar surface.

“It’s imperative that our large lunar payload customers are confident that our systems will deliver the cargo safely and reliably. If we can demonstrate Advanced Navigation’s technology on our current Nova-C landers, we can significantly improve the robustness of landing with Nova-D,” he said.

“Given the light weight and capabilities of the Advanced Navigation sensor systems, they are well suited for our Micro-Nova, a mini extreme mobility lunar vehicle also known as a ‘hopper’. Mass on the hopper is at a premium, but we require sensors that can help us fly to permanently shadowed craters and through lava tubes. We look forward to discovering more of the lunar surface with Advanced Navigation.”