Antenna Technologies for Future NASA Exploration Missions NASA’s plans for the manned exploration of the moon and Mars will rely heavily on the development of a reliable communications infrastructure on the surface and back to Earth. Future missions will thus focus not only on gathering scientific data, but also on the formation of the communications network. In either case, unique requirements become imposed on the antenna technologies necessary to accomplish these tasks. For example, surface activity applications such as robotic rovers, human extravehicular activities (EVA), and probes will require small size, lightweight, low power, multi-functionality, and robustness for the antenna elements being considered. Trunk-line communications to a centralized habitat on the surface and back to Earth (e.g., surface relays, satellites, landers) will necessitate wide-area coverage, high gain, low mass, deployable antennas. Likewise, the plethora of low to high data rate services desired to guarantee the safety and quality of mission data for robotic and human exploration will place additional demands on the technology. Over the past year, NASA Glenn Research Center has been heavily involved in the development of candidate antenna technologies with the potential for meeting these strict requirements. This technology ranges from electrically small antennas to phased array and large inflatable structures. A summary of this overall effort is provided, with particular attention being paid to small antenna designs and applications. A discussion of the Agency-wide activities of the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate (ESMD) in forthcoming NASA missions, as they pertain to the communications architecture for the lunar and Martian networks is performed, with an emphasis on the desirable qualities of potential antenna element designs for envisioned communications assets. Identified frequency allocations for the lunar and Martian surfaces, as well as asset-specific data services will be described to develop a foundation for viable antenna technologies which might address these requirements and help guide future technology development decisions.

https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20060051746 2020-04-24T21:34:05+00:00Z

Ant

enna

Tec

hnol

ogie

s fo

r Fu

ture

NA

SA E

xplo

ratio

n M

issi

ons

Félix

A. M

irand

aN

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Gle

nn R

esea

rch

Cen

ter,

Cle

vela

nd, O

H44

135

Felix

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irand

a@na

sa.g

ovTe

l: 21

6.43

3.35

00

2006

IEEE

Inte

rnat

iona

l Wor

ksho

p on

Ant

enna

Tech

nolo

gy:

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l Ant

enna

san

dN

ovel

Met

amat

eria

lsW

hite

Pla

ins,

NY

Mar

ch 6

-8, 2

006

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line

of P

rese

ntat

ion

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e V

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n fo

r Spa

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xplo

ratio

n•

Com

mun

icat

ions

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hite

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e fo

r E

xplo

ratio

n•

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et-S

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fic C

omm

unic

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uire

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nolo

gy D

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t Gle

nn

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earc

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r•

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clus

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mun

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hite

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essm

ent o

f Exi

stin

g N

ASA

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unic

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age

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trans

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0 kb

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equi

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over

age

at s

hort

rang

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, hor

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for t

he m

oon

for E

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., LR

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mis

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cou

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igh

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race

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cann

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, K-,

and

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45

67

89

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121

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1 10

5

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Eb/N

0-d

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Bit Error Rate

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effi

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anag

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ms)

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+/-

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2040

606050403020100

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Ref

lect

arra

y

Dire

ct R

adia

ting

MM

IC A

rray

SQR

of N

umbe

r of R

adia

ting

Elem

ents

Expe

cted

Gai

n(d

B)

Ferr

oele

ctric

Ref

lect

arra

y

Dire

ct R

adia

ting

MM

IC A

rray

SQR

of N

umbe

r of R

adia

ting

Elem

ents

Expe

cted

Ferr

oele

ctric

Ref

lect

arra

yD

evel

opm

ent

(K-b

and:

TR

L 3)

Pote

ntia

l App

licat

ions

•Sa

telli

te A

nten

na S

yste

ms

•G

roun

d-ba

sed

Dee

p Sp

ace

Net

wor

k A

rray

Ben

efits

•H

igh

effic

ienc

y•

Zero

man

ifold

loss

•El

ectr

onic

ally

ste

erab

le•

Ligh

twei

ght,

plan

ar

refle

ctor

EIR

P(d

BW

)Po

wer

Con

sum

ed(W

)

0500

1500

2000

Ref

lect

arra

y

MM

IC SQR

of N

umbe

r of R

adia

ting

Elem

ents

EIR

P(d

BW

)Po

wer

Con

sum

ed(W

)

0500

1500

2000

Ref

lect

arra

y

MM

IC SQR

of N

umbe

r of R

adia

ting

Elem

ents

≈28

cm

Act

ive

Dia

met

er

19 G

Hz

615

Ele

men

t Pro

toty

pe

≈28

cm

Act

ive

Dia

met

er

19 G

Hz

615

Ele

men

t Pro

toty

pe

V+ GR

D

V+ GR

D

LE

NS

AR

RA

Y

radi

atin

g si

defe

edsi

dez

optic

al a

xis

FEE

DS

FOC

AL

AR

Cθ

α

Mul

ti-be

am D

iscr

ete

Spa

ce L

ens

Arr

ays

Col

labo

ratio

n w

ith D

r. Z.

Pop

ovic

Uni

vers

ity o

f Col

orad

o, B

ould

er.

•No

man

ifold

loss

es•C

apab

le o

f mul

tiple

bea

ms

•Pse

udo

conf

orm

al

Mul

ti-B

eam

Ant

enna

s(S

-, K

a-ba

nd: T

RL

4)

Pot

entia

l App

licat

ions

•S

mar

t Ant

enna

Sys

tem

s•

Gro

und-

base

d C

omm

unic

atio

ns

(i.e.

, Hab

itat,

Rel

ays)

•S

atel

lite

Con

stel

latio

ns

30

60

90

0

-30

-60

-90

-10

-20

0

θ

30

60

90

0

-30

-60

-90

-10

-20

0

30

60

90

0

-30

-60

-90

-10

-20

0

θfe

ed

radi

ator

s

TDR

SS-C

Ant

enna

Dev

elop

men

t(S

-ban

d: T

RL

4)•

Nex

t gen

erat

ion

TDR

SS

to

impl

emen

t bea

mfo

rmin

gbe

twee

n S-

band

Sin

gle

Acce

ss

and

Mul

tiple

Acc

ess

ante

nnas

•G

RC

resp

onsi

ble

for a

nten

na

elem

ent d

esig

n, c

onst

ruct

ion

and

char

acte

rizat

ion

of

cand

idat

e an

tenn

as fo

r nex

t ge

nera

tion

Mul

tiple

Acc

ess

phas

ed a

rray

Pote

ntia

l App

licat

ions

•S

atel

lite

Ant

enna

Sys

tem

s

SM

ALL

AN

TEN

NA

S(T

RL

1-3)

Self-

Pow

ered

Ant

enna

s(X

-ban

d: T

RL

3)

•In

tegr

atio

n of

sol

ar c

ell a

nd lo

cal o

scill

ator

w

ith a

nten

na p

rovi

des

self-

pow

erin

g co

mm

unic

atio

ns s

yste

m p

acka

ge

Pot

entia

l App

licat

ions

•D

istri

bute

d se

nsor

s/pr

obes

•R

obot

ic ro

vers

•A

stro

naut

EV

A-4

0

-35

-30

-25

-20

-15

-10-50

-80

-40

040

80

H C

o-po

laris

atio

nE

Co-

pola

risat

ion

H C

ross

-pol

aris

atio

nE

Cro

ss-p

olar

isat

ion

relative gain, dB

angl

e, d

eg

H-fi

eld

8.41

8 G

Hz

1 fe

edba

ckλ

1.2

pF c

apac

itor

Tran

sist

or

Gat

e

Sour

ce

Dra

in

λ/2

reso

nato

r

X-ba

nd In

tegr

ated

ant

enna

/sol

ar c

ell

Loca

l Osc

illat

or

Min

iatu

rized

Rec

onfig

urab

le A

nten

na F

or

Plan

etar

y Su

rfac

e C

omm

unic

atio

nsPr

ogra

m G

oals

Dev

elop

ele

ctri

cally

sm

all

(min

iatu

rize

d)

ante

nnas

w

ith

mod

erat

e ba

ndw

idth

s fo

r pl

anet

ary

surf

ace

com

mun

icat

ions

be

twee

n re

mot

e si

tes

sens

ors

or o

rbite

rs.

The

tech

nolo

gy is

Inte

nded

to

en

able

lo

w-r

isk

sens

ing

and

mon

itori

ng m

issi

ons

in

host

ile

plan

etar

y an

d/or

at

mos

pher

ic e

nvir

onm

ents

.

The

se

ante

nnas

ar

e ne

eded

fo

r Pl

anet

ary

and

Moo

n E

xplo

ratio

n an

d M

onito

ring

M

issi

ons

Beam

form

ed b

y Ra

ndom

ly

Loca

ted

Ant

enna

s/Se

nsor

s

Rand

omly

loca

ted

ante

nnas

/sen

sors

Sens

or W

eb In

terc

onne

ctio

ns

Col

labo

ratio

n w

ith D

r. J

enni

fer

Ber

nhar

d (U

nive

rsity

of

Illin

ois)

Min

iatu

re A

nten

nas

(TR

L 2)

Col

labo

ratio

n w

ith D

r. Jo

hn V

olak

is a

nd M

r. Je

ff K

ula

(OS

U)

Arti

ficia

lly m

anuf

actu

rabl

eM

etam

ater

ials

: Mag

netic

P

hoto

nic

Cry

stal

s (M

PC

).

Thes

e M

PC

sex

hibi

t the

fo

llow

ing

prop

ertie

s:

(a) c

onsi

dera

ble

slow

dow

n of

inco

min

g w

ave,

resu

lting

in

froz

en m

ode.

(b) h

uge

ampl

itude

incr

ease

.

(c) m

inim

al re

flect

ion

at th

e fre

e sp

ace

inte

rface

.

(d) l

arge

effe

ctiv

e di

elec

tric

cons

tant

, thu

s en

ablin

g m

inia

turiz

atio

n of

the

embe

dded

ele

men

ts

Min

iatu

re A

nten

nas

(S-,

Ku-

/Ka-

band

: TR

L 3)

Ben

efits

•P

rovi

des

optim

al ra

diat

ion

patte

rns

for

surfa

ce-to

-sur

face

and

sur

face

-to-o

rbit

com

mun

icat

ions

at r

elev

ant f

requ

enci

es

with

out s

witc

hes

Pote

ntia

l App

licat

ions

•S

enso

rs/p

robe

s•

Rob

otic

rove

rs•

Astro

naut

EV

A

S-B

and

Ku/

Ka-

Ban

d

Sur

face

-to-S

urfa

ceS

urfa

ce-to

-Orb

it

Fold

ed H

ilber

t Cur

ve

Frac

tal A

nten

na

5 m

m

4.5

mm

5 m

m

Min

iatu

re A

nten

nas

(S-b

and:

TR

L 3)

Ben

efits

•P

erfo

rman

ce c

ompa

rabl

e to

an

S-b

and

dipo

le, b

ut a

t les

s th

an 1

/6 th

e si

ze

Pote

ntia

l App

licat

ions

•S

enso

rs/p

robe

s•

Rob

otic

rove

rs•

Astro

naut

EV

AE-p

lane

Pat

tern

H-p

lane

Pat

tern

Com

pact

Mic

rost

ripM

onop

ole

Ant

enna

12 m

m

12 m

m

11 m

m

NA

SA

see

ks to

dev

elop

tele

met

ry b

ased

impl

anta

ble

sens

ing

syst

ems

to m

onito

r the

ph

ysio

logi

cal p

aram

eter

s of

hum

ans

durin

g sp

ace

fligh

ts

A n

ovel

min

iatu

re in

duct

or a

nd p

ick-

up a

nten

na fo

r con

tact

-less

pow

erin

g an

d R

F te

lem

etry

from

impl

anta

ble

Bio

-ME

MS

sen

sors

has

bee

n de

velo

ped.

RF

Tele

met

ry S

yste

m fo

r an

Impl

anta

ble

Bio

-ME

MS

Sen

sor

(TR

L 3-

4)

Con

tact

-less

pow

erin

g an

d te

lem

etry

con

cept

.

Con

tact

-less

pow

erin

g an

d te

lem

etry

app

licat

ion

in b

iose

nsor

s.

Sche

mat

ic o

f a c

apac

itive

pre

ssur

e se

nsor

.S

chem

atic

of m

inia

ture

spi

ral i

nduc

tor o

n S

OG

/HR

-Siw

afer

and

Pho

tom

icro

grap

h of

in

duct

or/a

nten

na.

Mea

sure

d re

ceiv

ed re

lativ

e si

gnal

stre

ngth

as

a fu

nctio

n of

freq

uenc

y. (a

) Pic

k-up

ante

nna

at a

hei

ght o

f 5 c

m. (

b) P

ick-

up a

nten

na a

t a h

eigh

t of 1

0 cm

.

Rec

onfig

urab

le A

nten

nas

For H

igh

Dat

a R

ate

Mul

ti-be

am C

omm

unic

atio

nPI

: Pr

of.

Jenn

ifer

Ber

hard

, U

. Ill

inoi

s, G

rant

# N

AG3

2555

E E

Targ

et T

echn

olog

y:Re

conf

igur

able

ant

enna

ele

men

ts c

apab

le o

f pr

oduc

ing

mul

tipl

e be

ams,

mul

tipl

e fr

eque

ncie

s, a

nd

arra

y sc

an a

ngle

s fr

om b

road

side

to

hori

zon.

In

tend

ed f

or in

ter-

sate

llite

, sa

telli

te-m

obile

and

sa

telli

te-g

roun

d co

mm

unic

atio

n w

ith

a si

ngle

arr

ay.

Ant

enna

Ele

men

ts:

Spir

al m

icro

stri

ppa

tch

ante

nna

wit

h re

conf

igur

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sw

itch

ele

men

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ctiv

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by

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bias

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oads

ide

to

end-

fire

pat

tern

rec

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gura

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by

resp

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wit

ch

acti

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16

shor

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sw

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-15.

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180°

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120°-1

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5.0

10.0

15.0

20.0

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120°

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conf

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atio

ns

Swit

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Swit

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Feed

thr

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gro

und

plan

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ith

via

from

Re

vers

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de 5

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stri

plin

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ompa

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e Pr

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Squa

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For

mon

olit

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MEM

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tegr

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fab

rica

tion

-35

0°

90°

180°

270°

-20

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over

App

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φ

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Ant

enna

Sur

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D-R

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Ant

enna

Sur

vey

The

Des

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esea

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And

Tec

hnol

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Stu

dies

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an in

form

al p

artn

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of in

divi

dual

team

s fro

m a

cros

s th

e ag

ency

all

wor

king

to s

olve

the

uniq

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robl

ems

rela

ted

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lane

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sur

face

exp

lora

tion.

GP

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4-G

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D-R

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enna

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D-R

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enna

Sur

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D-R

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Ant

enna

Sur

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ReconfigurableTransceiver

SoftwareDefined Radio

Ana

log

HW

Dig

ital H

W

Re-c

on

figu

rable

Soft

ware

Dem

odul

atio

n

Equ

aliz

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Freq

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Filte

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Ant

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Sel

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Freq

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onve

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Con

verte

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Equ

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Use

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Dec

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g

Enc

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Re-c

on

figu

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Soft

ware

Freq

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Sel

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Pow

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verte

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Freq

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Dem

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Use

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ce

Dec

odin

g

Equ

aliz

atio

n

Mod

ulat

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Enc

odin

g

Equ

aliz

atio

n

Rec

onfig

urab

le tr

ansc

eive

rs a

nd S

oftw

are

Def

ined

Rad

ios

are

the

futu

re o

f tel

ecom

mun

icat

ions

Con

clus

ions

B

y 20

30, 1

Gbp

sde

ep s

pace

dat

a ra

tes

desi

red.

Cho

osin

g th

e pr

oper

ant

enna

tech

nolo

gy fo

r fut

ure

NA

SA e

xplo

ratio

n m

issi

ons

will

rely

on:

dat

a ra

te re

quire

men

ts, a

vaila

ble

freq

uenc

ies,

av

aila

ble

spac

e an

d po

wer

, and

des

ired

asse

t-spe

cific

ser

vice

s.

Like

wis

e, e

ffici

ency

, mas

s, a

nd c

ost w

ill d

rive

deci

sion

s.

Viab

le a

nten

na te

chno

logi

es s

houl

d be

sca

labl

e an

d fle

xibl

e fo

r ev

olvi

ng c

omm

unic

atio

ns a

rchi

tect

ure.

Enab

ling

tech

nolo

gies

incl

ude:

larg

e ap

ertu

re d

eplo

yabl

e/

infla

tabl

e an

tenn

as (r

educ

e sp

ace/

payl

oad

mas

s), m

ultib

eam

ante

nnas

(red

uce

pow

er c

onsu

mpt

ion)

, rec

onfig

urab

le a

nten

nas

(red

uce

spac

e), l

ow lo

ss p

hase

d ar

rays

(con

form

al/g

race

ful

degr

adat

ion)

, and

effi

cien

t min

iatu

re a

nten

nas

(red

uce

spac

e/po

wer

).

Effic

ient

min

iatu

re a

nten

nas

will

pla

y a

criti

calr

ole

in fu

ture

su

rfac

e co

mm

unic

atio

ns a

sset

s (e

.g.,

SDR

radi

os) w

here

ava

ilabl

esp

ace

and

pow

er p

lace

str

inge

nt re

quire

men

ts o

n m

obile

co

mm

unic

atio

ns s

yste

ms

at th

e en

visi

oned

UH

F/VH

F/S-

band

su

rfac

e co

mm

. fre

quen

cies

(i.e

., as

tron

aut s

uits

, pro

bes,

rove

rs)