NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University are partnering to develop augmented reality technology for when the U.S. returns to the moon and beyond.

Unlike the fully immersive experience of virtual reality, augmented reality overlays digital content or data onto the real world, typically through devices such as smartphones, tablets or headsets.

The agency wants the university to develop an augmented reality tool using the modeling and simulation of Navigation Doppler Lidar developed at NASA Langley, said Lena Little of the agency’s Strategic Partnerships Office. That lidar, critical for navigating the country’s return to the moon, provides the altitude, speed, direction and guidance needed in the absence of GPS, she said.

By incorporating modeling and lunar landing data, the tool could enhance visualization and training for entry, descent, landing and managing transitions from orbit — advancing capabilities for future missions to the moon and Mars, Little said.

“In the past when we’ve landed on the moon, we’ve gone to smooth areas. Under the Apollo era, they were smooth parts of the moon, and they were very predictable. But now we can’t rely on the navigation of the astronauts alone and just their eyesight because that’s how we’ve done it in the past. This time, we’ll be in darker areas, and we need to be able to navigate deep craters,” Little said.

The collaborative work, through a Space Act Agreement signed in September, enables the university to use NASA’s sensor technology and data to develop the capability.

The partnership allows for Embry-Riddle’s students, faculty and staff to engage with NASA personnel, collaborate on cutting-edge aerospace applications and technology, and gain direct research experience, said Trina Marsh Dyal, NASA Langley’s acting center director.

“We’re transferring our expertise and our knowledge and what we know about access to space to the commercial space industry, and it’s rapidly accelerating that technology development for us to not only go to the moon, back to the moon, but also beyond, to Mars,” Little said. “NASA is looking at the harder problems of getting humans back on the moon safely and back home to Earth, and we’re enabling that commercial, low Earth orbit access on a regular basis. And when we pull our resources together as a nation, we’re much stronger with those capabilities. We can amplify our and accelerate our access to space by working together.”

To illustrate the importance of opening data and expertise to such partnerships, Little said: “My favorite story I like to share is that my mom has a pacemaker. Within that pacemaker is a special technology, a sensor that was developed by NASA for a NASA mission. And there’s a company who licensed that technology from us, and they used it to create this pacemaker. So, I like to tell people that NASA saved my mom’s life.”

Embry-Riddle operates campuses in Daytona Beach, Florida, and Prescott, Arizona, in addition to online programs at more than 100 locations, including a site at Naval Station Norfolk.

“As we work to push the boundaries of what is possible and solve the complexities of a sustained human presence on the lunar surface and Mars, this partnership with Embry-Riddle will not only support NASA’s exploration goals but will also ensure the future workforce is equipped to maintain our nation’s aerospace leadership,” Dyal said.

https://www.pilotonline.com/2025/10/06/nasa-langley-landings-visualization/