Integrated Planetary Navigation and Communication System

Paper number

IAC-08.D3.3.3

Author

Mr. José Diez, DEIMOS Space, Spain

Coauthor

Mr. Antonio Fernández, DEIMOS Space S.L., Spain

Coauthor

Mr. Michel Tossaint, European Space Agency (ESA)

Coauthor

Mr. David de Castro, DEIMOS Space, Spain

Year

2008

Abstract

In the near future, an increasing number of missions will explore the Solar System. Both the European Space Agency (ESA) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) exploration programmes are focussing in Moon, Mars, and asteroids to gather scientific and engineering information, paving the way for permanent human establishments. The planned robotic and manned missions will demand navigation and communication services to support surface operations on these scenarios. 

The Aurora Programme represents the European long-term strategy for the robotic and human exploration of the solar system. In this frame, DEIMOS Space is leading under ESA contract the Feasibility Study for a Reduced Planetary Navigation and Communication System (PLANCOM), which aims at defining a feasible local communication and navigation infrastructure for future Mars and Moon exploration mission using an integrated, flexibly and low-cost approach. An integrated communications and navigation signal covering all requirements for human, robotic, surface assets, and orbit vehicles in a planetary environment (in the context of this paper, “planetary” refers to Mars and Moon) has been devised. 

To cover all the different possibilities of future planetary missions, short and long-range scenarios for un-manned and manned missions are considered, including surface-to-surface, surface-to-orbit, and orbit-to-orbit links. Local infrastructure includes habitation modules, communication base stations, planetary exploration vehicles, rovers, astronaut suits, microsensor devices, transfer vehicles, ascent/descent vehicles, and orbiters. A communication and navigation link between these elements is defined in order to build a network that allows different services such as high-quality video, audio channels, data network, or biomedical data. 

A common Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) signal based on the IEEE 802.16 WiMAX standard has been specifically designed for the planetary links. The different services are multiplexed in the wideband signal. Navigation capabilities are provided integrated in this signal, allowing relative real-time positioning in planetary surfaces. Specific algorithms for non-real time positioning using the available orbit relays are also considered.

A coverage analysis, based on terrain topography and ray-tracing algorithms, has been carried out for selected locations (three in Mars and one in the Moon). Transmitted signal parameters have been set to fulfil data and bit error rate (BER) requirements, and to achieve the specified position accuracy, solution rate, and time-to-first fix figures.

Simulation results obtained in a dedicated Matlab/Simulink simulator are provided in this paper. The analysis has been performed considering perturbations as atmospheric effects, thermal noise, multipath or local interference in the reference scenarios. 

Abstract document

IAC-08.D3.3.3.pdf

Manuscript document

IAC-08.D3.3.3.pdf (🔒 authorized access only).

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