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Paul,

How do rover vehicles keep track of altitude on a planet or moon which doesn't have an atmosphere or ocean ?

Greg Rudzinski

From: Paul Dolkas
Date: 2013 Sep 2, 22:13 -0700
And while we are on the subject, let’s not forget that only one planet has GPS, and there is a whole lot of exploration that is, and will be going on in places not quite so well equipped.

A few examples: the two Mars rovers currently use their cameras to take “sextant” shots to periodically update what is essentially a dead reckoning (gyrocompass + odometer) navigation system. If/when manned trips to the Moon & Mars take place, surface vehicles will need a celestial navigation system (automated or not) for the same reason. Unless somebody invents an inexpensive GPS constellation system, replicating our current capability on a distant planet will not be in the cards, Remember – the only reason we now have a GPS system was that the U.S. military needed one, and was quite willing to spend the tens of billions it took to put one in place.

A personal note – space exploration was what got me interested in CN in the first place. One of my master’s degree classes in optical sciences involved designing our own optical system, and I chose to design a “Mars Sextant”, not really knowing much about such devices at the time. I had no idea what a bubble sextant is, and ended up re-inventing the wheel with a sextant that was equipped with a pendulum-based artificial horizon.

Paul Dolkas

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