NASA and the Italian Space Agency just made history by detecting GPS signals on the Moon—an achievement that could revolutionize future space missions.
For the first time ever, signals from Earth’s Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)—the same system that powers your smartphone’s GPS—have been successfully received on the Moon. This game-changing milestone, achieved through the Lunar GNSS Receiver Experiment (LuGRE), could transform how astronauts, rovers, and spacecraft navigate beyond Earth.
Why GPS on the Moon Is a Huge Deal
“On Earth we can use GNSS signals to navigate in everything from smartphones to airplanes,” NASA’s Kevin Coggins explained in a statement. “Now, LuGRE shows us that we can successfully acquire and track GNSS signals at the Moon. This is a very exciting discovery for lunar navigation, and we hope to leverage this capability for future missions.”
While GPS helps billions of people find their way on Earth, the Moon has no dedicated navigation system—until now. The ability to use GPS in deep space could:
- Help lunar rovers explore without constant human control
- Allow spacecraft to land with pinpoint accuracy
- Make lunar base construction faster and safer
With NASA’s Artemis program aiming to establish a long-term human presence on the Moon, this discovery could be the key to unlocking a permanent lunar colony.
How NASA Proved GPS Works on the Moon
On March 2, 2024, Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost lander touched down on the Moon carrying LuGRE, developed by NASA and the Italian Space Agency. Just a day later, at 2 a.m. EST on March 3, the device detected GPS and Galileo satellite signals—something never done before.
Even more astonishing? LuGRE continued tracking signals while orbiting the Moon, reaching a record-breaking 243,000 miles from Earth. This shatters the previous GPS distance record set in 2015.
Until now, spacecraft relied on ground-based tracking stations and human-operated navigation. But with GPS working on the Moon, future missions could become more automated and independent—especially for NASA’s upcoming Gateway space station, which will orbit the Moon as a staging point for deep space missions.
LuGRE will continue gathering data over the next two weeks, and if its results hold up, this could be the breakthrough that makes human life on the Moon a reality.
