FUTURE (Fully aUtonomous feaTUre Recognition planetary Explorer) - Revolutionizing Nanosatellite Autonomy through Visual Navigation

FUTURE is an Italian mission designed to redefine autonomous navigation by exclusively relying on visual observations, eliminating the need for conventional ranging measurements and Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) dependencies. The mission is developed in the frame of the ALCOR program [1] of the Italian Space Agency. FUTURE LEO nanosatellite mission has the objective to demonstrate in orbit the capability of determining the spacecraft orbit with only visual observation, without relying on radiometric measurements (range and range-rate), or on the GNSS positioning systems. Given the current state of the art, this project enhances autonomous navigation capabilities in LEO via natural and artificial features on the surface of the Earth. This project can prove an innovative low-cost and autonomous navigation technique possibly applicable to any planetary orbiter. By orbiting in LEO, it was possible to exploit available GNSS signals as a source of truth, to validate the performance and of the payload data. Furthermore, opportunistic observations with other celestial objects, or in different observation spectrum ranges (Thermal IR), can be carried out to validate autonomous navigation techniques spanning different scales. The solution will make use of state of art automation algorithms, sensors, processing units and software solutions to obtain spacecraft position and velocity information. The proposed mission is composed by one Tyvak 6U nanosatellite based on the Triumph platform and leverages the extensive background of the consortium in on-board image processing, artificial intelligence and navigation. The payload hardware and the software were traded off and selected during the preliminary design phase of the project, considering different options available with relative advantages and disadvantages. The payload hardware will be provided by Tyvak, while the payload software and algorithms will be developed and provided by AIKO and Politecnico di Milano. Finally, a combination of Tyvak’s and ALTEC’s ground infrastructure will be used, to operate the spacecraft, validate the effective performance of the systems and the fulfilment of mission objectives.