Optimizing Earth-Moon Transfer and Cislunar Navigation: Integrating Low-Energy Trajectories, AI Techniques and GNSS-R Technologies
It addresses challenges in Earth-Moon transfers and navigation for crewed and robotic missions, but is incremental as it reviews and integrates existing technologies rather than proposing a new breakthrough.
This review tackles the problem of cost-efficient trajectory design and reliable navigation for cislunar activities by comparing transfer strategies and integrating AI techniques like convolutional neural networks for crater recognition and deep reinforcement learning for adaptive trajectory refinement, along with GNSS-Reflectometry for extended navigation and environmental mapping.
The rapid growth of cislunar activities, including lunar landings, the Lunar Gateway, and in-space refueling stations, requires advances in cost-efficient trajectory design and reliable integration of navigation and remote sensing. Traditional Earth-Moon transfers suffer from rigid launch windows and high propellant demands, while Earth-based GNSS systems provide little to no coverage beyond geostationary orbit. This limits autonomy and environmental awareness in cislunar space. This review compares four major transfer strategies by evaluating velocity requirements, flight durations, and fuel efficiency, and by identifying their suitability for both crewed and robotic missions. The emerging role of artificial intelligence and machine learning is highlighted: convolutional neural networks support automated crater recognition and digital terrain model generation, while deep reinforcement learning enables adaptive trajectory refinement during descent and landing to reduce risk and decision latency. The study also examines how GNSS-Reflectometry and advanced Positioning, Navigation, and Timing architectures can extend navigation capabilities beyond current limits. GNSS-R can act as a bistatic radar for mapping lunar ice, soil properties, and surface topography, while PNT systems support autonomous rendezvous, Lagrange point station-keeping, and coordinated satellite swarm operations. Combining these developments establishes a scalable framework for sustainable cislunar exploration and long-term human and robotic presence.