Integrated Lander-Propulsion-GNC Framework for Autonomous Lunar Powered Descent

A team of researchers from Turkey has developed an integrated lander-propulsion-GNC framework for autonomous lunar powered descent, accepted at IEEE RAST 2026. The system uses the BUG VTVL test vehicle as a reference platform, paired with the YUNT V0 throttleable bipropellant engine that provides variable thrust across a wide operating envelope. The framework integrates a real-time successive convexification guidance solver that addresses all nonconvexities, including thrust lower bounds, mass depletion coupling, and thruster dead-zone behavior, within a unified second-order cone program solvable in near-real time.

The vehicle design accounts for structural configuration, landing stability, center-of-mass migration, and inertia evolution, while the propulsion architecture defines throttle ratio, dead-zone behavior, and gimbal authority that constrain the guidance problem. Parametric analysis reveals a fundamental coupling between throttle ratio, pointing authority, and surface gravity. Monte Carlo simulations validate guidance robustness, achieving sub-50-meter landing precision under realistic perturbations. This framework could enable more reliable and precise autonomous landings for future lunar missions.