Study of a lunar satellite navigation system

Recently, the interest for returning to the Moon, after more than 30 years since the Apollo Program succeeded in its goal, has increased significantly. There are many reasons why the return to the Moon has become appealing, and most of them are related to the opportunities that our Satellite offers to the scientific community, also as a possible bridge towards a future exploration of Mars. Thanks to the experience matured with the International Space Station concerning how to maintain a permanent base in space, an enduring lunar scientific base is the logical next step. In such a context, a lunar global satellite navigation system would be needed to provide accurate positional information to operators on the surface and in lunar orbit. This study constitutes a preliminary system's engineering analysis of such a system. The study focuses on the mission concept, its objectives, requirements and constraints and it develops mission analysis aspects such as the choice of the most suitable constellation to accomplish the mission objectives and specific issues concerning the design of the spacecraft subsystems.