[{"command":"openDialog","selector":"#drupal-modal","settings":null,"data":"\u003Cdiv id=\u0022republish_modal_form\u0022\u003E\u003Cform class=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form ecl-form\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 action=\u0022\/en\/article\/modal\/6226\u0022 method=\u0022post\u0022 id=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 accept-charset=\u0022UTF-8\u0022\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHorizon articles can be republished for free under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EYou must give appropriate credit. We ask you to do this by:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 1) Using the original journalist\u0027s byline\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 2) Linking back to our original story\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 3) Using the following text in the footer: This article was originally published in \u003Ca href=\u0027#\u0027\u003EHorizon, the EU Research and Innovation magazine\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003ESee our full republication guidelines \u003Ca href=\u0027\/horizon-magazine\/republish-our-stories\u0027\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EHTML for this article, including the attribution and page view counter, is below:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022js-form-item form-item js-form-type-textarea form-item-body-content js-form-item-body-content ecl-form-group ecl-form-group--text-area form-no-label ecl-u-mv-m\u0022\u003E\n \n\u003Cdiv\u003E\n \u003Ctextarea data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 aria-describedby=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 id=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 name=\u0022body_content\u0022 rows=\u00225\u0022 cols=\u002260\u0022 class=\u0022form-textarea ecl-text-area\u0022\u003E\u003Ch2\u003E\u0027Transformer head\u0027 to slim down space probes\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIt\u0027s one of a number of European research projects that are working on ways to make space missions more efficient.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cfigure role=\u0022group\u0022 class=\u0022@alignright-width45@\u0022\u003E\n\u003Cimg alt=\u0022The Transformer Optimus Prime. Image: Shutterstock\/PAISAN HOMHUAN\u0022 height=\u00221200\u0022 src=\u0022\/research-and-innovation\/sites\/default\/files\/hm\/Optimus%20Prime%20Transformer.jpg\u0022 title=\u0022The Transformer Optimus Prime. Image: Shutterstock\/PAISAN HOMHUAN\u0022 width=\u0022793\u0022\u003E\n\u003Cfigcaption class=\u0022tw-italic tw-mb-4\u0022\u003EThe Transformer Optimus Prime. Image: Shutterstock\/PAISAN HOMHUAN\u003C\/figcaption\u003E\n\u003C\/figure\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018It looks like a\u0026nbsp;Transformer\u0026nbsp;head,\u2019 said Dr Stephan Theil of the German Aerospace Center in Cologne, Germany, who is coordinating the EU-funded SINPLEX project, which designed the device.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDr Theil explained that the strange shape is because researchers have packed a laser altimeter, star tracking equipment, cameras and orientation devices into one container, and they stick out in\u0026nbsp;all directions.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThat\u2019s less awkward than today\u2019s methods.\u0026nbsp;Right now, most sensors are stored in separate boxes in the spacecraft and carry out their tasks individually. Each sensor has its own individual power source and data processing unit, whereas with SINPLEX\u2019s design, the sensors share these, cutting down on mass.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMass is one of the most critical factors for exploration missions. That\u2019s because it costs about EUR 18 000 to put a single kilogram into orbit.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018If you save 10 kilograms\u0026nbsp;you can carry another experiment doing more science in the same place, or you can have even smaller landers which cost you even less money by launching it,\u2019 said Dr Theil.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong style=\u0022font-size: 13.0080003738403px; line-height: 1.538em;\u0022\u003ELow resolution\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESurprisingly, the navigation systems under development don\u2019t need high-resolution images. The resolution of a space camera can be as little as one megapixel, less than the average mobile phone.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cfigure role=\u0022group\u0022 class=\u0022@aligncenter@\u0022\u003E\n\u003Cimg alt=\u0022Mounting the technology on a car and speeding down an airport runway towards a target is helping researchers test new space navigation systems. Image courtesy of SINPLEX\u0022 height=\u0022478\u0022 src=\u0022\/research-and-innovation\/sites\/default\/files\/hm\/Car%20testing.jpg\u0022 title=\u0022Mounting the technology on a car and speeding down an airport runway towards a target is helping researchers test new space navigation systems. Image courtesy of SINPLEX\u0022 width=\u00221200\u0022\u003E\n\u003Cfigcaption class=\u0022tw-italic tw-mb-4\u0022\u003EMounting the technology on a car and speeding down an airport runway towards a target is helping researchers test new space navigation systems. Image courtesy of SINPLEX\u003C\/figcaption\u003E\n\u003C\/figure\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0027It\u2019s enough for us to get the information that we need,\u2019 said Dr Theil. \u2018The more pixels we have, the more processing power we need. It\u2019s the art of system design to design it in a way that it matches the requirements, but not overshooting it because in the end it might be more costly in terms of mass and power.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn order to help scientists maximise the data they get from space landings, Gerhard Paar of the Fraunhofer Institute in Freiburg, Germany, is working with the EU-funded PRoViDE project to help scientists create 3D maps of Mars and other planets and moons.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHis team puts together images taken on other space missions to create 3D virtual maps. These are then incorporated into an interactive system, like a computer game, allowing a scientist to land a spacecraft or operate a rover through a virtual 3D representation of the planet and scientifically investigate its surface.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018You can fly around and you can measure distances in all these 3D reconstructions, for example. Whatever a geologist can measure on the real world\u2019s surface, you can do on the virtual world that we generate,\u2019 he said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ciframe src=\u0022https:\/\/europa.eu\/webtools\/crs\/iframe\/?oriurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fembed%2FFo2T6lXlzZc\u0022 width=\u0022560\u0022 height=\u0022315\u0022 frameborder=\u00220\u0022\u003E\u003C\/iframe\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThe SINPLEX consortium is testing its new navigation system by simulating an asteroid landing in the lab. Video courtesy of SINPLEX.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHaving the ability to generate live 3D images via the spacecraft as it touches down on a planet would also help to improve landing accuracy and precision. The EU-funded FOSTERNAV project is designing a system that does just this by using lasers to measure the distance of the lander from different points on the surface and produce a 3D image of what\u2019s below.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAlexandre Pollini,\u0026nbsp;one of FOSTERNAV\u2019s lead scientists, said:\u0026nbsp;\u20183D is the key functionality that you must have to succeed in the landing. You have to get the self-dimension in some way.\u0027\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EDebris\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EPollini added that the vision-based sensors developed by FOSTERNAV to help control descent and accurately pinpoint targets could also be used for cleaning up space debris, a growing problem.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018We have more and more debris orbiting the planet and some people, they are thinking now of how to capture and move away the debris,\u2019 said Pollini. \u2018For such a mission, the technology that we have developed for FOSTERNAV may be useful.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhile both FOSTERNAV and SINPLEX have proven their technologies in a lab, they still need to go through a rigorous assessment process before they can go into orbit. However, that might not take very long, according to Pollini.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Purely dependent on the technology efforts, it can be ready very fast - let\u2019s say three years,\u2019 he said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/textarea\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\n \u003Cdiv id=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 class=\u0022ecl-help-block description\u0022\u003E\n Please copy the above code and embed it onto your website to republish.\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cinput autocomplete=\u0022off\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022form-aai6nb3hqfivfsmmkkdf7n0z3sp00oonyolgv7jdqk8\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_build_id\u0022 value=\u0022form-aAi6NB3hqFiVFsMMKkdF7n0Z3SP00ooNYolgV7JDqK8\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003Cinput data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_id\u0022 value=\u0022modal_form_example_modal_form\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003C\/form\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E","dialogOptions":{"width":"800","modal":true,"title":"Republish this content"}}]