Systematic Evaluation of Miniaturized Lunar Navigation and Communication Satellite Constellation Systems

With the resurgence of lunar exploration, sustainable communication and navigation infrastructure has become critical. This paper addresses the trade-off between miniaturized and large-platform architectures for lunar constellations by proposing a systematic evaluation framework. The core idea of this framework is to separate design constraints from performance metrics: first, engineering models are used to place different schemes under unified equivalent resource constraints, ensuring a fair comparison; then, a hierarchical threshold-based (“pyramid”) evaluation method is employed. This model sequentially filters schemes based on (1) a qualification threshold (basic service availability), (2) a reliability threshold (N-1 fault tolerance), and finally (3) ranks geometric dilution of precision (GDOP) and daily data throughput in a performance optimization layer. This framework is applied to evaluate typical configurations with varying satellite numbers and individual satellite masses. Simulation results validate the effectiveness of the evaluation framework, revealing potential limitations of the “large-platform” scheme in basic availability, while the all-miniaturized configuration demonstrates robust availability and reliability. The research findings not only provide a systematic evaluation framework and quantitative basis for the engineering design of lunar positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) and communication systems but also lay a theoretical foundation for the evolution of advanced technologies such as the global coverage extension of lunar communication and navigation constellations.