Open-source Artemis Mission Simulator lets you explore the moon before NASA
Built with ROS 2 and Gazebo, it simulates lunar terrain from real NASA data.
A developer known as jasmeet0915 has released an open-source project called Artemis Mission Simulator, designed to simulate NASA's Artemis missions using ROS 2 and Gazebo. The project aims to provide a high-fidelity lunar base simulator for space robotics research and collaboration. Currently, it features a lunar_terrain_exporter CLI tool that downloads digital elevation models from NASA's Planetary Geodesy Data Archive (Product-78) and converts them into Gazebo-ready SDF models. By default, it includes four potential Artemis landing sites: a ridge between Shackleton and de Gerlache craters, the rim of de Gerlache crater, an isolated peak near Shackleton crater, and the rim of Shackleton crater.
Future development focuses on three milestones: improving the lunar terrain with realistic illumination effects (using ephemeris data to simulate permanently shadowed regions), adding procedural texturing for visual SLAM and VO testing, and eventually simulating robotic assets like Moonfall drones, Lunar Terrain Vehicles (LTVs), and rovers. The developer is actively seeking feedback and collaborators to expand the simulator's capabilities and make it a plug-and-play playground for space robotics researchers.
- Uses ROS 2 and Gazebo to simulate Artemis missions, with a CLI tool pulling real NASA lunar elevation data.
- Includes four pre-generated landing sites near the south pole based on a published study.
- Future plans include realistic illumination, procedural texturing, and simulation of Moonfall drones, LTVs, and rovers.
Why It Matters
Provides an open, accessible simulator for testing space robotics before actual missions, reducing cost and risk.