Sensors for Moon,Mars Landings to be Tested

A NASA-developed sensor suite and new computer will soon be tested in the course of a Blue Origin New Shepard rocket mission.The flight path of the rocket is relevant to lunar landings, NASA said, and it provides a unique opportunity to mature the suite's sensors and algorithms for Artemis crewed lunar landings by 2024 and Mars crewed landings in the 2030s.Blue Origin was chosen for a Tipping Point award in 2018 to increase access to planetary surfaces. The sensors and specialised software were produced under the Safe and Precise Landing Integrated Capabilities Evolution (SPLICE) programme.The New Shepard flight test will demonstrate the performance of two NASA precision landing sensor systems and the new computer in the first integrated test for the computer and two of the three SPLICE sensor systems.* During the approximately 12-minute mission,SPLICE will collect data on the operations of each component so the team can evaluate their effectiveness during the lunar-relevant descent and landing of the New Shepard reusable booster back on Earth.The data will anchor analyses and models,and support follow-on adjustments, testing and development.* Precision landing is crucial for the upcoming Artemis effort to build a lunar base over successive missions.So the test flight will help to bring about flexible,next-gen capabilities that NASA and its partners can apply to a variety of missions, NASA pointed out.The components can be mixed and matched to suit the mission.* A 24 September 2020 launch attempt had to be scrubbed, and the new launch date is pending.Blue Origin is a privately held company owned by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos.Its New Shepard rocket has flown 11 successful missions with landings.*