nasa-space-apps

LUNA Mission Control — GitHub prototype

GitHub Pages: A static, browser-only version of LUNA is published from web/ by the GitHub Actions workflow in .github/workflows/luna-pages.yml once Pages is enabled. It runs the offline demonstrator without a Python server. See GitHub Pages and Porkbun deployment. Live JPL Horizons API calls require separate backend hosting.

Interactive Moon landing-site explorer with a sidebar-only Sun/Earth viewer, date/time controls, and mission parameters. The right side shows the Moon globe until Simulate mission is clicked; it then switches to results, and Optimize & compare displays original and alternative scenarios side by side.

Run locally

Python 3.11+ is required. No Node.js or frontend build is required.

cd luna-mission-control
python -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate             # Windows PowerShell: .venv\Scripts\Activate.ps1
python -m pip install -r requirements.txt
python -m pytest -q
python -m uvicorn backend.app:app --reload

Visit http://127.0.0.1:8000 and interactive API docs at http://127.0.0.1:8000/docs.

Manual smoke test

1. Drag/zoom the Moon, click a point, and check the selected coordinates update in the sidebar.
2. Change UTC date and time; watch sidebar Moon-centered and horizon geometry previews update.
3. Leave offline illustrative mode selected. Click Simulate mission; the globe is replaced by charts.
4. Choose Keep landing date/time and click Optimize & compare; two scenario columns appear.
5. Choose Keep landing site and repeat; alternative dates are sampled every 12 hours in ±14 days.
6. Click Return to globe to return to map selection.

Science fidelity — read before demo

• Offline geometry is illustrative, not JPL-validated astronomical positions. This mode is provided for testing without network access.
• The JPL Horizons code fetches Sun and Earth observer azimuth/elevation, but real API connectivity must be verified separately. The NASA path uses reference-surface height zero; the correct terrain datum integration is pending.
• Terrain horizon is flat (0°): no NASA LOLA DEM, crater obstruction, safe landing slope, or rover traversal analysis is implemented.
• Solar generation uses fixed panel orientation, approximate solar disk visibility, constant irradiance, 24% cell efficiency and 80% system efficiency.
• Battery SOC follows simplified energy integration; no thermal/heating constraints are included.
• Temperature is an explicitly unvalidated proxy, not projected spacecraft component temperature or a hibernation recommendation.
• Earth-center elevation above a flat horizon is geometric visibility, not a guaranteed communications link.
• Site optimization uses an illustrative 11-site polar grid with no landing-site vetting. Time optimization samples ±14 days in 12-hour increments. True NASA/terrain-aware optimization requires ephemeris + LOLA caches.
• No spatially grounded seismic information is available in this prototype.

Sources: JPL Horizons, NASA LOLA PGDA.

Deployment

The FastAPI application serves the static interface and JSON APIs together. Deploy the Dockerfile with the working directory set to luna-mission-control (for example on a container hosting provider). Do not put API secrets in source control. GitHub Actions runs the Python test suite for changes in this folder.

Repository layout

luna-mission-control/
  backend/
    app.py           API and frontend file routes
    models.py        validated UTC and mission parameters
    science.py       offline/astronomical scenario simulation
    horizons.py      live JPL Horizons query and parser
    optimizer.py     preserve-one-variable what-if search
  web/
    index.html       left sidebar and two main screens
    styles.css       responsive dark mission-control theme
    globe.js         selectable WebGL sphere with procedural surface
    app.js           UI state, API calls, results, comparisons
  tests/             API, science and parser tests
  requirements.txt
  Dockerfile

Implementation priority

Integrate NASA LOLA elevation tiles and site-specific terrain horizons first; then cache validated Horizons ephemerides, extend the candidate list to scientifically screened locations, and implement physics-grounded temperature modeling and uncertainty labels.

The visual globe is a procedural Moon representation (not NASA texture) and cannot be used to infer local slopes or landing safety.