Li is a professor of civil and environmental engineering at OSU.

The new system will be designed for astronauts who return to the moon and need a way to track their movements while trekking through unexplored parts of the moon.  NASA has ambitious plans to have lunar rovers head to certain parts of the moon that have not been examined well due to poor radio contact with Earth.

In a press release issued by OSU, Li describes past astronaut movements where they were thinking about exploring a crater on the moon but were forced to turn back due to terrain difficult to navigate.  But a GPS-like system will help astronauts plot new routes to their target, and will allow them to find safer routes than predetermined routes chosen by researchers back on Earth.

The use of a custom-made navigation system on the moon also has additional benefits besides getting from one location another.

"We will help with navigation, but also with astronauts' health as well," Li said in a statement published on the OSU web site.  "We want them to avoid the stress of getting lost, or getting frustrated with the equipment.  Lunar navigation isn't just a technology problem, it's also biomedical."

The system will work by combining images taken by satellites in orbit around the moon with images taken by the ground crew on the lunar surface.  The lunar vehicles used by astronauts on the moon, along with the astronauts’ suits will have tracking and motion sensors to help triangulate their exact location.  A computer network will make use of lunar beacons, orbital imaging sensors, and stereo cameras to make up the rest of the system.   

NASA plans to try and return to the moon by 2020, with several other prominent space nations also aiming to launch manned missions to the lunar surface.