Web Apps & Tools — ASCLab @ RPI

LSNO v1.1

Lunar Sensor Network Optimizer

LSNO enables rapid optimization of lunar surface sensor placements (up to 12 sensors) for robust tracking and custody maintenance of objects throughout the near-lunar environment, extending to the Lunar Sphere of Influence (SOI). Rather than tailoring the optimization to a single resident space object (RSO), LSNO leverages performance metrics aggregated across a specified time horizon and the entire RSO catalog, resulting in sensor architectures that provide broad, catalog-wide tracking effectiveness and resilience.

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Key Capabilities

01Near-real-time optimization of lunar surface sensor network architectures.

02Terrain-aware sensor placement with support for bright-body exclusion constraints, including Sun and Earth avoidance.

03Sensor network optimization based on the D-optimality criterion, maximizing the log-determinant of the Fisher Information Matrix (FIM).

04Quantitative assessment of network visibility and tracking performance across the RSO catalog.

05Efficient optimization using a Greedy Sequential Differential Evolution (GSDE) framework.

06Ground-track and 3D visualization of catalog objects exhibiting the highest (green) and lowest (red) observation coverage.

07Automated export of optimization results and performance metrics in CSV format for downstream analysis and post-processing.

User-Defined Inputs

(Default values are preloaded)

1Differential Evolution (DE) optimization parameters.

2RSO catalog specification through orbital elements (periapsis altitude, inclination, and eccentricity).

3Observation window duration and measurement noise characteristics.

4Sensor exclusion constraints, including bright-body avoidance angles.

© 2026 Advanced Space Concepts Laboratory (ASCLab), Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. All rights reserved.

This web application is provided solely for academic, educational, and non-commercial research purposes. Unauthorized commercial use, reproduction, distribution, modification, or incorporation into commercial products or services is prohibited without prior written permission from the copyright holder.

Use of this software, associated algorithms, visualizations, data products, and generated outputs is subject to these terms. The copyright holder reserves all rights not expressly granted.