Terrain Mapping & Database
3D Terrain Model and Obstacle Map Database
The 3D terrain model and obstacle map database maintains multi-resolution digital elevation models, point clouds, and occupancy grids across an operational area of at least 2 square kilometers to support safe navigation, hazard avoidance, and site selection. Mapping is complicated by extreme shadow-and-highlight contrast that degrades surface photogrammetry, as well as permanently shadowed regions that require lidar-only surveys. Additionally, regolith shifts driven by surface traffic and thermal cycling demand continuous map refinement. Hosted on radiation-hardened storage media designed for a 100-year lifetime, the database delivers terrain data at resolutions of 10 centimeters or finer with query latencies under 100 milliseconds.
Maintains and continuously updates 3D terrain models, obstacle maps, and traversability assessments for the entire Ark operational area.
Purpose
Provide the spatial knowledge base that enables safe path planning, hazard avoidance, resource localization, and construction site selection for all Ark operations.
Context
Built initially from orbital data and progressively refined by surface robot surveys; serves as the shared spatial awareness layer consumed by all planning and navigation functions.
Principles
- ▸Multi-resolution mapping from coarse orbital to fine surface data
- ▸Continuous map updates from robot SLAM and survey operations
- ▸Traversability classification for path planning safety
- ▸Semantic labeling of terrain features (craters, boulders, slopes)
Typical implementations
- ▸Digital elevation models (DEMs) at multiple resolutions
- ▸3D point cloud databases from lidar surveys
- ▸Occupancy grid maps for obstacle detection
- ▸Slope and roughness layers for traversability analysis
Lunar considerations
- ▸Permanently shadowed regions require lidar-only mapping
- ▸Regolith surface changes from traffic and thermal cycling
- ▸Extreme shadow/highlight contrast complicates photogrammetry
- ▸Map must cover both illuminated and dark operational zones
Specifications
Functional
| primary function | Store, query, and update 3D terrain models and derived navigation layers for the Ark operational area |
| inputs | orbital imagery/DEM, lidar point clouds from robots, stereo imagery, SLAM map updates |
| outputs | terrain elevation models, obstacle maps, traversability maps, semantic terrain labels |
| resolution cm | <=10 |
| coverage km2 | >=2 |
| query latency ms | <=100 |
| update frequency | continuous |
Physical
| materials | radiation-hardened storage media |
| vacuum | True |
Operational
| thermal range c | -173, 127 |
| lifetime years | 100 |
Interfaces
Provides
- Path planning and hazard avoidance maps for robot navigation
- Map priors for map-based localization algorithms
- Spatial database for mission planning and resource assessment
Requires
- Incremental map data from robot SLAM operations
- Persistent storage for terrain database
Decomposes into
Cite this entry
Lunar Ark Codex. "Terrain Mapping & Database" (L2-NAV-MAP). Retrieved 10 September 2026, from https://lunarark.com/entry/L2-NAV-MAP
Licensed CC-BY-SA 4.0. You may reuse and adapt this entry with attribution, under the same licence.