A 3D model of the moon will help astronauts prepare for the next lunar mission

While NASA works on sending humans back to the moon, a Philly tech company is making it easier for developers to create lunar simulations. 

Old City-based 3D geospatial platform Cesium released a project on Tuesday called Cesium Moon Terrain, a curated data set of the moon’s surface that can be used to build applications, simulations or 3D experiences. 

This project is an extension of Cesium’s mission to make data more accessible to developers and engineers, said Dave Braig, senior product manager for Cesium. 

“We just recognized that there was a good opportunity to take some of this available data — there’s a lot of data that’s available through NASA — to build out this data set,” Braig told Technical.ly, “And make it available as an open geospatial standard on our platform to allow other people to use it.” 

The last time humans went to the moon was in 1972, but NASA intends to send the first woman and person of color to the moon with its Artemis project by 2028. Phase one of the four-part project in 2022 sent an unmanned crew to the moon’s orbit. Plans for phase two intend to send a crewed flight test in September 2025. 

Cesium gathers data for developers to build models of the moon

The data used in Moon Terrain comes from NASA’s public data sources, like the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter which is a satellite that floats around the moon collecting images and data. 

All of the data in the project is available publicly through NASA. Cesium gathered it, curated it and turned it into the industry-standard 3D tile file format to make it easier for engineers and developers to use. 

“It’s an exciting time to be looking at that with all the interest around NASA’s programs and our drive to get back to the moon,” he said. “And use that as a stepping stone out to other places as well, too.”

This data set can be used to build digital twins, virtual versions of items, systems or processes, of infrastructure on the moon. Users can then simulate what it will be like to complete their missions on the moon or in space before they get there. 

Users can use the data to simulate communication towers on the moon’s surface and see how its terrain could impact communication, for example. The data set can also be used to create virtual reality or extended reality experiences to get a sense of what it would be like on the moon. 

The project has plans for solar system expansion to Mars 

Exton-based aerospace software company Ansys, which acquired the company Cesium spun out of in 2019, has been using the Moon Terrain data sets with its RF Channel Modeler, which simulates communication systems. 

Cesium is also interested in sharing this data with local universities, such as the University of Pennsylvania, to help with research. 

Cesium already offers 3D data sets of Earth’s terrain including oceans. The moon terrain project will be available through the company’s Cesium ion platform, which is where the other 3D tile-based data sets are based. 

As users interact with Cesium Moon Terrain, Braig anticipates updates to the project with new data sets, imagery and terrain. He also sees opportunities to expand to Mars and other planets as well. 

“Once you’ve got this foundational set for the moon, there’s no reason why we couldn’t expand this to Mars or to other non-Earth planet bodies,” Braig said. “As long as we understand the size of these planets we’ll be able to take available data sources and start to generate that.”