Lunar Rover Cargo Transport: Mission Concept and Field Test
Alec Krawciw, Nicolas Alejandro Olmedo, Faizan Rehmatullah, Maxime Desjardins-Goulet, Pascal Toupin, Timothy Barfoot
AI summary
Problem
Future lunar missions require reliable, autonomous transport of heavy cargo between fixed sites, but existing navigation methods struggle with precise alignment, harsh lighting and shadows, and the need for repeated traversals without constant operator input.
Approach
The researchers upgraded a Lunar Exploration Light Rover with lidar sensors and implemented a Lidar Teach and Repeat system, where a semi-autonomous drive maps a safe path that the rover then autonomously repeats with high precision.
Key results
- Successful two-week field test at CSA Analog Terrain under simulated lunar lighting and communication delays
- Precise cargo alignment within ±7.5 cm longitudinal and ±10 cm lateral tolerances during autonomous repeats
- Full mission cycle validation including teach, reverse repeat, and forward autonomous drives with one-ton payload
- Demonstration of lidar-based navigation overcoming visual odometry limitations in low-light and shadowed environments
Why it matters
This validated autonomy framework directly supports scalable lunar logistics for NASA’s Artemis program and future sustained surface operations.
Abstract
In future operations on the lunar surface, automated vehicles will be required to transport cargo between known locations. Such vehicles must be able to navigate precisely in safe regions to avoid natural hazards, human-constructed infrastructure, and dangerous dark shadows. Rovers must be able to park their cargo autonomously within a small tolerance to achieve a successful pickup and delivery. In this field test, Lidar Teach and Repeat (LT&R) provides an ideal autonomy solution for transporting cargo in this way. A one-ton path-to-flight rover was driven in a semi-autonomous remote-control mode to create a network of safe paths. Once the route was taught, the rover immediately repeated the entire network of paths autonomously while carrying cargo. The closed-loop performance is accurate enough to align the vehicle with the cargo and pick it up. This field report describes a two-week deployment at the Canadian Space Agency’s (CSA) Analog Terrain, culminating in a simulated lunar operation to evaluate the system’s capabilities. Successful cargo collection and delivery were demonstrated in harsh environmental conditions.