The Talaris vehicle is being tested at 50%, 65%, and 75% throttle, hovering at each level before increasing to the next thrust threshold. The test vehicle will be able to simulate the moon’s gravity by removing 5/6 of its own weight, which will help develop guidance, navigation and control algorithms for the Next Giant Leap team’s lunar hopper.
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory recently tested the LIDAR sensors and algorithms that will translate raw data into a 3-D terrain map of the moon’s surface for future lunar-landing expeditions. This video describes the test and the technology used for autonomous landings and hazard detection.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology