Research on Integrated Lunar Communication and Navigation Architecture and Joint Orbit Determination Methodology

Abstract

To address key technical challenges of constellation design and high-precision orbit determination for the Lunar Communication and Navigation System（LCNS）an integrated orbit determination architecture which leverages multi-type orbital constellations and multi-source tracking resources from Earth，the Moon，and space was proposed. A hybrid constellation，comprising low lunar circular orbits，frozen elliptical orbits，and near-rectilinear Halo orbits，was designed based on lunar orbital dynamics to enhance coverage across global lunar surface and critical regions. For orbit determination，five observation modes were systematically compared and analyzed：Earth-based only，Moon-based only，Earth-based with inter-satellite，Moon-based with inter-satellite，and Earth-Moon-space joint modes. Their respective orbit determination accuracies were quantitatively evaluated. Simulation results demonstrate that the Earth-Moon-space joint mode substantially outperformed conventional approaches，improving accuracy from the meter level（in Earth-based only mode）to the centimeter level，thereby greatly enhancing navigation and positioning reliability for polar and far-side lunar missions. These findings provide theoretical support and engineering guidance for top-level constellation design，multi-mode orbit determination strategies，and the optimization of allocation resources allocation in future LCNS development.

Keywords

Lunar Communication and Navigation System / constellation design / Earth-Lunar-Space joint orbit determination / lunar ground station / accuracy evaluation