OptimalAI
Impact
NASA
Mapping the Moon’s surface for NASA space landings
OptimaAI researchers plan the Moon landing sites for NASA's 5 series of Artemis missions
About Artmemis
The Artemis program is a series of ongoing lunar missions run by NASA. Its aim is to "land the first woman and first person of color on the Moon" and then using technology and research developed during the Artemis flights, launch a crewed mission to Mars. The 'Moon to Mars' plan involves building a new space station in lunar orbit and establishing a habitable Moon base. Artemis 1 - an uncrewed test flight - orbited and flew beyond the Moon in November 2022. Artemis missions 2 to 5 are currently in preparation. NASA is collaborating with multiple commercial partners on Artemsis, including OptimalAI researchers.
Moon Landing Site
OptimalAI researchers were commissioned by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) to create a 3D model and image of the Aristarchus landing site – a 40km wide and 2.7km deep crater that was originally selected as the landing site for the cancelled Apollo 18 mission. From a series of 14 stereo images (where pictures are taken of the same scene at slightly different angles), the team created a novel photogrammetry technique to provide the world's most accurate images and detailed 3D models. These help NASA make informed decisions about landing sites as well as navigation routes for rovers or manned vehicles.
Future Moon Mapping
For future Moon mapping, the team developed a new machine learning method to predict 3D shapes after training with nearly 400 pairs of images and their corresponding stereo-derived 3D models created by NASA’s camera team. The new method eliminates the need for high resolution stereo images which are rare on the Moon. Using this new method, the team created a large 3D mosaic covering an area of 260 km x 209 km, processed using machine learning from 370 images of the von Kármán crater on the far side of the Moon (the crater is 180km in diameter and up to 12 km deep). The team produced a technical report analysing the images and 3D model in detail. The 3D model and accompanying mosaiced image, which has a resolution of 50cm, are now available to view on NASA’s web-based portal Moon Trek, which offers a suite of interactive tools for exploring the Moon, and was developed for mission planners, space scientists, educators and other interested parties.
Moon Trek
NASA: Artmeis III Landing Region Candidates