Navigation system
Optical Navigation
Using a spacecraft's own camera images of a target body against the background stars to determine its position relative to that body — essential in the final approach to an asteroid, comet, or moon, where ground tracking alone is not precise enough.
Related
Sources
The primary and reference sources this topic draws on.
- NASANational Aeronautics and Space Administration
Mission data, planetary science, space telescopes, and public-domain imagery.
Most NASA-produced imagery is in the public domain; individual items are checked for usage terms before publication.
- NASA JPLJet Propulsion Laboratory / Solar System Dynamics
Orbital data, ephemerides, and small-body parameters for planets, asteroids, and comets.