NASA ORBIT Space Pathway · Sun Devil Orbital Systems · Arizona State University

LANTRN

Lunar Autonomous Navigation and Timing Relay Network

An 18-satellite constellation concept in highly elliptical lunar polar orbits, designed to provide persistent navigation and communications support for critical assets operating near the lunar South Pole.

Explore project media Read the abstract
Moon surrounded by multiple blue and red lunar polar orbit paths
Concept visualization of LANTRN's multi-plane lunar polar constellation architecture.
18satellites in the baseline constellation
3+satellites available over the South Pole
$150Kcurrent estimated cost per satellite
LAR-TOPS-361NASA patent foundation

Mission Need

Local infrastructure for a region where Earth is not always visible.

The lunar South Pole is a high-priority region for future NASA exploration and sustained development, but crater rims, terrain masking, permanently shadowed regions, and limited visibility to Earth can interrupt direct connections to terrestrial assets.

Those interruptions can affect lander coordination, mission timing, astronaut tracking, rover operations, and emergency communications. Inertial navigation can bridge brief gaps, but its position estimates drift without regular external updates. LANTRN is intended to provide persistent local navigation and relay support without requiring continuous direct-to-Earth visibility.

Architecture

A navigation node and communications relay in every spacecraft.

Each LANTRN satellite is conceived as a dual-purpose node. The constellation supports communications between mission control and lunar surface operations while enabling reverse-ephemeris navigation to estimate and update the positions of surface users.

Spacecraft concept. Deployed solar arrays support the solar-powered architecture, with battery storage intended for long-duration operations.
01

Persistent South Pole coverage

The baseline design targets at least three satellites available over the lunar South Pole at any given time.

02

Reverse-ephemeris navigation

Known satellite states are used as measurement references so lunar surface users can estimate and regularly update their positions.

03

Communications relay

The network provides a local relay layer between lunar surface operations and mission control when direct Earth visibility is interrupted.

04

Scalable infrastructure

The concept is framed as an early infrastructure layer with room to expand to additional lunar regions and future destinations.

Project Media

Constellation geometry, relay architecture, and spacecraft development.

All renders and motion studies below are conceptual project media supplied by the LANTRN team. Link lines, orbit colors, and camera movements are illustrative rather than operational telemetry.

Still Renderings

Orbit and system architecture studies

Constellation orbit overview. Blue and red paths distinguish the conceptual orbit families, with arrowheads showing direction of travel.
Baseline orbit-family view. Blue polar paths establish the initial constellation geometry.
Combined orbit-family view. The contrasting red path is shown alongside the blue polar geometry.
Earth–Moon relay geometry, wide view. Illustrative crosslinks connect three nodes and a line toward Earth.
Relay network framing. An alternate composition emphasizes the relationship among Earth, the Moon, and the relay nodes.
Relay network close view. A closer rendering of the illustrative communication and navigation links.
Featured Motion Studies

Final concept reel and dynamic constellation views

Final LANTRN concept-board animation. The completed visual sequence introduces the spacecraft, navigation concept, orbit architecture, and network redundancy.
Extended constellation motion study. A longer view of the conceptual orbit families and their relative motion around the Moon.
Constellation camera study. A moving viewpoint explores the spatial relationship among the lunar orbit paths.
Spacecraft deployment study, pass A. A short animation of the conceptual spacecraft and surrounding deployment sequence.
Open the complete animation development archive 8 additional motion studies
Spacecraft deployment study, short pass. A compact 90-frame variation of the spacecraft animation.
Spacecraft deployment study, pass B. An alternate 120-frame timing and camera pass.
Orbit-family transition. The visual shifts from the baseline blue paths to the combined blue and red orbit depiction.
Constellation motion study. A fixed-camera animation of the conceptual multi-plane orbit arrangement.
Concept-board development cut v1. Initial presentation timing and layout study.
Concept-board development cut v1.1. Revised sequence with updated spacecraft and redundancy framing.
Concept-board development cut v1.2. Alternate arrangement and pacing of the project summary elements.
Concept-board development cut v1.3. Later pre-final visual pass retained as part of the project archive.
Open rendering background plates 2 environment assets
Lunar render environment plate. Star field used behind the constellation visualizations.
Spacecraft render environment plate. Star field used behind the spacecraft visualizations.

Feasibility

A concept supported by multidisciplinary analysis.

According to the project abstract, feasibility was evaluated through thermal, mechanical, communications, and orbital trajectory analyses.

Thermal

Long-duration spacecraft operation and environmental considerations.

Mechanical

Spacecraft configuration and structural concept development.

Communications

Relay support between lunar users, constellation nodes, and mission control.

Orbital trajectory

Highly elliptical lunar polar orbit architecture for South Pole coverage.

Project Credits

Sun Devil Orbital Systems

Arizona State University · NASA ORBIT Space Pathway

Team Members

Mason Davis
Eric Marcu
Kevin Ruiz Lopez
Elizabeth Thorley
Alexander Tavassoli

Faculty Advisor

Joe DuBois

Primary Source

LANTRN Project Abstract

Sun Devil Orbital Systems, Arizona State University · NASA ORBIT Space Pathway · 2026

Open abstract PDF