Thu Mar 06 12:21:10 UTC 2025: ## NASA Makes History: GPS Signals Successfully Received on the Moon
**Greenbelt, MD** – NASA has achieved a significant milestone in lunar exploration, successfully receiving and tracking GPS signals on the Moon’s surface for the first time. The Lunar GNSS Receiver Experiment (LuGRE), a joint effort with the Italian Space Agency, aboard Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost lunar lander, accomplished this feat on March 3rd, after landing on March 2nd.
LuGRE, which traveled approximately 225,000 miles from Earth, received a strong navigation fix, demonstrating the viability of using Earth-based Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS), similar to GPS, for precise lunar navigation. This groundbreaking achievement opens new possibilities for future lunar missions, including NASA’s Artemis program.
“On Earth, we use GNSS signals for everything from smartphones to airplanes,” explained Kevin Coggins, NASA’s deputy associate administrator for the Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) program. “LuGRE proves we can successfully obtain and monitor these signals on the Moon, providing crucial location, speed, and time data for astronauts.”
The successful reception of the signals marks a significant step towards improved navigation systems for future lunar exploration. LuGRE, capable of continuous operation for 14 days, was developed in collaboration with Qascom and Politecnico di Torino, and funded by NASA’s SCaN Program under the Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative. This technology is expected to greatly enhance the safety and efficiency of future lunar missions.
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