Russia Develops Tools To Create New Navigation System By Gravitational Field - Institute

Russian scientists are developing tools to measure the Earth's gravitational field that could later be used to create a new fully autonomous navigation system, General Director of a Russian scientific research institute Sergey Donchenko told Sputnik in an interview released on Tuesday.

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 25th September, 2018) Russian scientists are developing tools to measure the Earth's gravitational field that could later be used to create a new fully autonomous navigation system, General Director of a Russian scientific research institute Sergey Donchenko told Sputnik in an interview released on Tuesday.

"The research that is carried out in our institute is aimed at increasing the accuracy of the measurement of various characteristics of the gravitational field ... Today, our experts are developing prototypes of gravitational gradiometers and Earth gravitational potential meters, which will allow to collect information about the properties of the Earth's gravitational field," Donchenko said.

According to Donchenko, this information can be used to create a new navigation system by the gravitational field that would have full autonomy, a significant advantage because the system would not need satellites or any other sources whose data can be distorted.

"In order to solve the problem of navigation we need two components: a map of the gravitational field and a sensor system that would allow us to measure the characteristics of the gravitational field. The comparison between the map's data and the readings will allow us to locate an object on the map," he added.

If created, the new navigation system would be practically invulnerable because it is nearly impossible to suppress the gravitational field, Donchenko said.