Near-Earth satellite navigation system GPS tested on the Moon for the first time

On March 2, 2025, Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost lander made a historic landing on the Moon, becoming the first privately owned lander to perform a truly soft landing on the moon’s surface. But long before it landed, the lander began receiving GPS signals for the first time in history, and continued to do so after landing. This will be useful for future missions and will make it easier to navigate on and around the Moon.

Sunrise on the Moon. Image Credit: Firefly Aerospace

Among the NASA instruments on board the Blue Ghost module is the LuGRE receiver, created by the agency together with its Italian colleagues. This is a modified receiver of signals from the GPS and Galileo satellite navigation networks. There are few people on Earth today who do not use these or other satellite navigation services. But for the Moon, this is a first.

The LuGRE module began receiving signals from Earth satellite navigation even before approaching the Moon, setting two world records for the range of the GPS and Galileo systems: first at a distance of 337,479 km (January 21), and then at a distance of 391,000 km (February 20). After landing, the module also tied to the GPS and Galileo systems, testing satellite navigation directly on the surface of the Moon for the first time. NASA will subsequently analyze all of this data to understand how these Earth navigation systems can be adapted for use in near-Moon space and on the surface of the satellite.

Image source: NASA

If GPS or Galileo systems work correctly in the conditions of the Moon, this will allow for the automation of navigation of lunar and circumlunar vehicles. Today, entire teams of operators monitor each of them using specialized surveillance systems. By shifting navigation tasks to automation, it will be possible to greatly simplify the management of lunar missions.