Researchers Develop New Way to Navigate the Moon Using 800-Year-Old Math
When astronauts return to the lunar surface in the next couple of years, they’re going to be looking for a spot to set up a moon base. But unlike here on Earth, they can’t just pull out their phones and use a GPS… after all there aren’t any global positioning satellites orbiting overhead.
Category
📚
LearningTranscript
00:00 [Music]
00:03 When astronauts return to the lunar surface in the next couple of years,
00:07 they're going to be looking for a spot to set up a moon base.
00:10 But unlike here on Earth, they can't just pull out their phones and use a GPS.
00:13 After all, there aren't any global positioning satellites orbiting overhead.
00:17 So what are they going to do?
00:18 Well, Science Alert reports, it's likely they might use some arithmetic
00:22 that was invented nearly a millennium ago.
00:24 It's called the Fibonacci sphere, and it essentially uses a math trick
00:28 to evenly place points upon a round object, like the moon.
00:31 So using measurements previously taken by NASA,
00:34 the research team used a computer simulation to place 100,000 evenly placed points
00:39 on the lunar surface, allowing them to map more accurately its slightly off spherical shape
00:43 and get a better understanding of actual distances between points on the moon.
00:47 For instance, they were able to account for the fact that the moon's poles
00:50 are closer to its center than any point on its equator,
00:53 revealing the slight oblong nature of Earth's only natural satellite.
00:57 The research team even used the same technique and ran their calculations on Earth,
01:01 finding that their math matched up perfectly with what we already knew about our planet,
01:05 confirming the method, and letting future astronauts rest assured
01:09 they can find their way around the moon.
01:12 [music]