OrbitScape

How can we build effective maps of space (lunar) orbits?

As activity increases around the Moon, understanding and characterizing the orbital environment of cislunar space will become important. The regions around the Earth-Moon Lagrange points, in particular L1 and L2, have been the subject of interest for logistics, utility and security functions ranging from communications relays to refueling stations, situational awareness, low energy transfers, orbital research stations, and more.

Although we tend to think of this as a technical matter— characterizing specific orbital characteristics to inform mission planning or efficient transport— this invisible geography will increasingly become a landscape on which human geopolitics will play out. As we begin to engage with the notion of being a planetary scale civilization with the Earth-Moon system as our home, it is appropriate to consider the ways in which these environments may influence and inform the design of new patterns of human activity.

Key accomplishments

• Completed a full user interface mockup tool for visualizing cislunar and Lunar orbits.
• Identified the General Mission Analysis Tool (GMAT), an open-source software system for space mission design, optimization, and navigation as a method to integrate real space objects into the tool.
• Completed UI/UX design of the primary user interface and tested all major technical backend components of the tool.
• Completed full product development and rolling out beta testing.

Team members