In developmentHigh-Efficiency Rendezvous, Maneuver & Execution System
HERMES
Terminals and operations for lunar networks. HERMES builds the user end of a lunar network: the terminals, delay-tolerant software and operations a lander, rover or instrument needs to use one.
- Domain
- Cislunar
- Focus
- User terminals · Delay-tolerant networking · Operations
- Standard
- LunaNet interoperable
41% of the Moon never faces Earth.
The far side has no direct line to Earth, polar craters drop in and out of view, and every mission competes for the same deep space antennas. Relays in lunar orbit change that, but only for missions that carry a compatible terminal and software built for a 1.3 second, often interrupted path. Ordinary internet protocols do not survive it.
Capabilities
User terminals
Compact radios that let landers, rovers and instruments join lunar relay networks instead of waiting for direct-to-Earth passes.
Delay-tolerant networking
Software that moves data across long, interrupted links where standard internet protocols fail.
Store and forward
Onboard buffering so science and telemetry survive outages instead of being lost.
Mission operations
Command, scheduling and data handling across many surface assets at once, not one spacecraft at a time.
Design targets
Targets, not demonstrated results.
- Interoperability
- LunaNet Interoperability Specification (LNIS) user segment
- Data standards
- CCSDS link and file layers
- Networking
- DTN Bundle Protocol, store and forward across interrupted links
- Light time
- 1.28 s one way, Earth to Moon
Works with
Briefings
Technical briefings for mission partners and program offices.