Dynamic Control Aware Semantic Communication Enabled Image Transmission for Lunar Landing

Abstract

The primary challenge in autonomous lunar landing missions lies in the unreliable local control system, which has limited capacity to handle high-dynamic conditions, severely affecting landing precision and safety. Recent advancements in lunar satellite communication make it possible to establish a wireless link between lunar orbit satellites and the lunar lander. This enables satellites to run high-performance autonomous landing algorithms, improving landing accuracy while reducing the lander's computational and storage load. Nevertheless, traditional communication paradigms are not directly applicable due to significant temperature fluctuations on the lunar surface, intense solar radiation, and severe interference caused by lunar dust on hardware. The emerging technique of semantic communication (SemCom) offers significant advantages in robustness and resource efficiency, particularly under harsh channel conditions. In this paper, we introduce a novel SemCom framework for transmitting images from the lander to satellites operating the remote landing control system. The proposed encoder-decoder dynamically adjusts the transmission strategy based on real-time feedback from the lander's control algorithm, ensuring the accurate delivery of critical image features and enhancing control reliability. We provide a rigorous theoretical analysis of the conditions that improve the accuracy of the control algorithm and reduce end-to-end transmission time under the proposed framework. Simulation results demonstrate that our SemCom method significantly enhances autonomous landing performance compared to traditional communication methods.