Lidar-Based Hazard Avoidance for Safe Landing on Mars

Hazard avoidance is a key technology for landing large payloads safely on the surface of Mars. During hazard avoidance, sensors and computing onboard the lander are utilized to detect hazards in the landing zone, autonomously select a location free of hazards, and then generate a trajectory that retargets the lander to the safe landing site. Algorithms are described for scanning lidar (light detection and ranging)-based hazard detection, safe site selection, and powered landing guidance designed for Mars landing. The performance of these algorithms is quantified using a closed-loop simulation of hazard avoidance, which includes a synthetic Martian terrain generator, a scanning lidar model, and the required hazard avoidance and powered landing guidance algorithms. Preliminary results show that the proposed hazard avoidance algorithms are effective at detecting hazards and guiding the lander to a safe landing site.

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