For the first time in history, a GNSS signal has been acquired at 40 Earth beams, more than 200,000 km from Earth, overcoming the limit set thus far by NASA. Just two days after launching, the joint Italian Space Agency-Asi and NASA mission, called LuGRE—Lunar GNSS Receiver Experiment—has already brought home extraordinary successes, confirming Italy’s leading role in this sector of space exploration. Following the acquisition of its initial signal approximately eight hours post-launch, LuGRE established a new global record: “for the first time in history, a GNSS signal was acquired at 40 Earth beams, exceeding 200,000 km from Earth,” as reported by the Asi website.
This measurement surpasses the threshold previously established by NASA and signifies a substantial advancement in the application of GNSS signals beyond Earth orbit. The Global Navigation Satellite System is a system that, by way of military origins, through the reception of signals from a constellation of orbiting satellites by specialized apparatus, enables the exact determination of the geographical coordinates of the location on Earth where the receiving apparatus is situated. Over the past thirty years, this system has developed tremendously and matured into a tool in widespread use.
The Global Navigation Satellite System, GNSS, installed on most smartphones, is accepted as a core instrument in several human endeavours that require knowledge of the coordinates of a point on the surface of the Earth. The LuGRE receiver, designed to operate in dual-frequency and multi-constellation mode for GPS and Galileo, has reached another milestone by acquiring the Galileo signal beyond Earth’s orbit, a feat never achieved.
Cooperation between the US and Europe
This achievement opens new horizons in interplanetary navigation and communications, with possible novel solutions for space exploration in the future. Control centres of NASA in Washington and Qascom continue their cooperation in operations and the following analysis of data. As part of the Artemis program, using GNSS signals could become a short-term solution in anticipation of ESA’s future Moonlight constellation for lunar communication and navigation services, for which Italy is the prime contractor.
The LuGRE instrument was built in Italy by Qascom on behalf of Asi with scientific cooperation from the Polytechnic University of Turin. The receiver is hosted on the commercial Blue Ghost lander built in the United States by the company Firefly under NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Program (CLPS). This achievement not only strengthens Italy’s position in the space exploration field but also shows what incredible feats can be accomplished through international cooperation.

The implications for the other projects
The realm of space exploration is presently abuzz with enthusiasm over the remarkable achievement of the successful acquisition of a GNSS signal at the extraordinary distance of 40 Earth radii. This historic achievement realized through the LuGRE instrument—Lunar GNSS Receiver Experiment—represents a huge step forward in our ability to navigate and communicate in deep space. Built in collaboration with the Italian Space Agency and NASA, LuGRE has performed far better than anticipated. The detection of this signal well beyond Earth orbit opens new possibilities for future space missions.
LuGre
The breakthrough has huge implications for projects like the Artemis program, where navigation and communication need to be pinpointed and accurate. GNSS technology could prove invaluable in lunar and even interplanetary exploration by providing a reliable and accurate means of location and data transmission. While the European Space Agency plans to provide dedicated communication and navigation services to lunar missions with its future Moonlight constellation, LuGRE’s success shows that the technology of GNSS is viable as an interim solution. The LuGRE instrument is the product of Italian ingenuity and engineering skill, built by Qascom in Italy with scientific cooperation from the Polytechnic University of Turin.
It is mounted on the commercial Blue Ghost lander developed by the US company Firefly under NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Program (CLPS). Such a collaboration represents the importance of international cooperation in the progress of space exploration. The reception of a GNSS signal at such a distance, on which the more traditional technologies of satellite navigation have been relying, further compounds Italy’s established role as one of the key players in space exploration. It is also an inspiring example of what can be done through international cooperation and surely will stimulate further innovation as we continue to push the frontiers of space exploration and encourage new generations of scientists and engineers to reach for the stars.