JHU-APL to Support DARPA’s Lunar Operating Guidelines for Infrastructure Consortium Project

The Johns Hopkins University-Applied Physics Laboratory will provide lunar science and technology expertise to a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency project designed to identify and propose lunar critical infrastructure standards.

JHU-APL will manage and deliver expert insights for the Lunar Operating Guidelines for Infrastructure Consortium, an initiative designed to accelerate the development of interoperability standards for critical infrastructure to be installed on the moon. Standards for power distribution; communications; positioning, navigation and timing; lunar surface surveying; and cislunar space traffic control are among the project’s main focus areas.

Through LOGIC, DARPA will solicit insights from NASA agencies, government agencies, private industry and academic institutions, JHU-APL said.

The university’s participation in DARPA’s project adds to several initiatives aimed at developing lunar critical infrastructure.

In late July, NASA awarded Astrobotic a $34.6 million Tipping Point grant to demonstrate how its LunaGrid-Lite renewable power generation and distribution solution would power systems installed on the moon. Astrobic CEO John Thornton said LunaGrid-Lite can power landers, rovers, future habitats and other pieces of equipment.

In late June, NASA selected four teams to demonstrate how their power supply and storage technologies would work in a simulated lunar environment. The teams would showcase their solutions under the Watts on the Moon Challenge.