Evolunar
Autonomous vehicles
for lunar exploration

• • Identify resources to be mined
• • Detect potential hazards and collect critical data for efficient mission planning
• • Cooperate with other vehicles, assist with path planning and the identification of sites of interest, to better exploit the limited mission time
• • Scout lunar pits to assess the presence and the accessibility conditions of a lava tube entrance
• • Transport payloads from the landing site to more valuable locations
• • Support future human bases with swarms of drones that can be refilled in recharging stations

This system forms the heart of the spacecraft, playing a critical role in both its mass and overall performance.

At Evolunar, we are developing an advanced Propellant Feeding System that easily integrates with other on-board systems while offering flexible modularity. Our scalable design allows for adjustable propellant volumes and engine classes, enabling longer missions and larger payload capacities.

We are also addressing several unique challenges specific to this innovative type of vehicle, including sloshing, rapid emptying times, and control dynamics.

By jointly developing hardware and software, we are able to provide an optimized, compact and efficient solution, capable of operating in real-time with high accuracy and at the same time minimizing the mass and power required for operation.

The system splits the tasks among different processing units to leverage the benefits of each one and exploits an easily extendable base set of sensors comprising of IMU, Camera, and Rangefinder. It employs a complex proprietary multicamera architecture, coupled with a strong step of outlier rejection to increase global robustness.

This approach results in higher accuracy and allows navigation in a potentially unlimited range of vehicle attitudes, but also increases resiliency and redundancy: in case of damages to one of the sensors, the algorithm is able to rely on the remaining ones to maintain operativity.

The advanced Navigation System developed for LuNaDrone is an innovative solution that works independently from any external signal, such as GNSS, finding natural applications in autonomous robots and UAVs.

Our technology allows drones to monitor the movement of inventory inside warehouses; perform prospecting and monitor equipment in mines; perform inspections in confined spaces such as tanks, boilers, sewers; recognize hazards and prevent disruptions to factory assembly lines, without stopping machines and robots.

Not relying on external signals is of paramount importance for security and defense scenarios, but the architecture also allows the fusion of GNSS data when available, granting the ability to seamlessly transition in and out of GNSS degraded environments like urban canyons, which is a key enabling technology for aerial drone deliveries.