The Heads on Fire Community

GPS stands for Global Positioning System. GPS uses a constellation of between 24 and 32 satellites that orbit around the earth that send signals to GPS receivers that tell the exact location, time and speed of an object. For example GPS navigation systems in cars give you directions to where you want to go.

GPS is also used for navigation, map-making, land surveying, tracking, and geocaching. Geocashing is what we will be doing while using GPS to map mission trails park. Geocashing uses GPS to do a sort of “hide and seek” game that can be played anywhere in the world. Boxes with different objects put in it are hidden and people use GPS to find those boxes.

Different uses of GPS: 

The constellation of GPS satellites orbiting around the earth:

Trilateration: the process used by GPS satellites for mapping: