Comparison of Deep Space Navigation using Optical Imaging, Pulsar Time-of-Arrival Tracking, and/or Radiometric Tracking

Recent advances with space navigation technologies developed by NASA in space-based atomic clocks andpulsar X-ray navigation combined with past successes in autonomous navigation using optical imaging, brings tothe forefront the need to compare space navigation using optical, radiometric, and pulsar-based measurementsusing a common set of assumptions and techniques. This review article examines these navigation data types in twodifferent ways. First, a simplified deep space orbit determination problem is posed that captures key features of thedynamics and geometry, and then each data type is characterized for its ability to solve for the orbit. The data typesare compared and contrasted using a semi-analytical approach with geometric dilution of precision techniques. Theresults provide useful parametric insights into the strengths of each data type. In the second part of the paper, ahigh-fidelity, Monte Carlo simulation of a Mars cruise, approach, and entry navigation problem is studied. Theresults found complement the semi-analytic results in the first part, and illustrate specific issues such as each datatype’s quantitative impact on solution accuracy and their ability to support autonomous delivery to a planet.