Abstract
This paper presents a feasibility study for a very high data rate receiver operating in the K/Ka-band suitable to future Moon exploration missions. The receiver specifications are outlined starting from the mission scenario and from a careful system analysis. The designed architecture uses a low noise front-end to down-convert the incoming K/Ka-band signal into a 3.7 GHz intermediate frequency (IF). For maximum flexibility, a software defined radio (SDR) is adopted for the I/Q demodulation and for the analog to digital conversion (ADC). The decoding operations and the data interface are carried out by a processor based on field programmable gate array (FPGA) circuits. To experimentally verify the above concepts, a preliminary front-end breadboard is implemented, operating between 27.5 and 30 GHz. The breadboard, which uses components off the shelf (COTS) and evaluation boards (EVBs), is characterized by a 46 dB gain, a 3.4 dB noise figure and a − 37 dBm input-referred 1 dB compression point. Finally, a 40 Msym / s quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK) signal is demodulated by means of a commercially available SDR, demonstrating the above concept. The importance of these results is that they have been obtained exploiting a class of miniaturized and low cost microwave integrated circuits currently available on the market, opening the way to a dense communication infrastructure on cislunar space.
Highlights
The current trend in space exploration is the planning of more missions to study Earth’s nearest celestial bodies
This explains why there is a significant effort for the development of new technologies that will allow the establishment of Moon bases or stations; in this framework an appropriate telecommunications infrastructure is demanded as well
The receiver prototype is based on two subsystems: i) the Ka-band front-end assembly, ii) the software defined radio (SDR) and field programmable gate array (FPGA)-based modem assembly
Summary
The current trend in space exploration is the planning of more missions to study Earth’s nearest celestial bodies. Cislunar space is becoming the target for a variety of projects, such as the Lunar Orbital Platform-Gateway (LOP-G) and Lunar Relay Satellites (LRS) This explains why there is a significant effort for the development of new technologies that will allow the establishment of Moon bases or stations; in this framework an appropriate telecommunications infrastructure is demanded as well. Such infrastructure should have the capability of carrying out the simultaneous multi band communications between the Earth, the Moon, including visiting (rovers) and descent/ascent (landers, terminals) vehicles, and other elements in cislunar orbit (LOP-G, LRS). When considering human exploration, a high data rate is compulsory [2,3]
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