Workshop on Cislunar Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT)

11 - 13 February 2025
Vienna International Centre, AustriaJointly organized by
the International Committee on Global Navigation Satellite Systems (ICG) and
the Interagency Operations Advisory Group (IOAG)

Introduction

The Moon is a primary focus for space activities around the world in the coming decades, including orbiters, landers, rovers, human activities, science, and long-duration missions. These activities are driving a need for infrastructure to provide consistent, precise, real-time Positioning, Navigation and Timing (PNT) services, and multiple development efforts are underway to satisfy this need, beginning as early as this decade. As with the existing Earth-based Global Navigation Satellite Systems, such infrastructure will need to be mutually compatible, interoperable, and available in order to maximize utility for lunar space users.

At the 5th Interoperability Plenary meeting (IOP-5) held 20-22 June 2023, the IOP resolved that its chartered Interagency Operations Advisory Group (IOAG) organize a multilateral workshop with the International Committee on GNSS (ICG) to provide an international coordination venue for GNSS providers and lunar communications and navigation providers. In response, the 17th meeting of the ICG recommended the organization of a joint ICG-IOAG multilateral cislunar PNT workshop to be performed in the late 2024/early 2025 timeframe, with specific objectives to be accomplished. The ICG recommendation also stressed the importance of collaboration with other international organizations to strengthen collaboration and standardization of lunar PNT systems.

This inaugural Joint ICG-IOAG Multilateral Cislunar PNT Workshop seeks to provide an open international coordination venue to foster interoperable, compatible, and available lunar PNT systems of the future. Its focus is on the lunar PNT systems and services planned and under development, spectrum compatibility, lunar reference systems and time systems, aspects and models for international governance, lessons learned from the GNSS community, and driving considerations from the user segment.

Objectives

The goal of the workshop is to provide an open international coordination venue for lunar PNT service providers, including GNSS providers, to foster interoperable, compatible, and available lunar PNT systems of the future.

The objectives are to:

1. Outline the scope, depth, use cases, and status of lunar PNT systems being developed.
2. Identify lessons learned from the GNSS community that are applicable to lunar PNT service providers.
3. Foster advancement in interoperability, compatibility, and availability between lunar PNT systems, including GNSS.
4. Propose recommendations that may be taken up by lunar PNT service providers.

Expected Participants

The workshop is for everyone interested in the interoperability, compatibility, and availability of lunar PNT services.

The conference is aimed at experts and policymakers from regional, national and local institutions, private organizations, academic institutions, non-governmental organizations, and international organizations from both developed and developing countries.

Especially encouraged to attend are representatives from lunar PNT system developers and service providers, including GNSS providers; experts in lunar PNT spectrum, lunar reference systems, and timing; experts in PNT service compatibility, interoperability, and governance; potential lunar PNT technology and equipment developers; and potential users of lunar PNT systems.

For the purposes of this workshop, cislunar PNT providers encompass any system providing a radio frequency-based signal and relevant data necessary for a recipient to perform position, velocity, and/or time estimation. These cislunar PNT service providers include broadcast transmissions from space-based (orbiting) vehicles, direct point-to-point transmission in lunar proximity, 3GPP systems on the surface or in lunar orbit, surface pseudolites, surface transmitters of RF "beacons", WiFi, augmentations, and other complementary systems.