Wireless Channel Simulation and Coverage Analysis for Lunar Environments

In this Phase II proposal, Remcom proposes to continue and enhance our efforts to develop and deploy a complete, end-to-end modeling and simulation solution for predicting wireless propagation and network coverage for lunar scenarios. Phase I completed some of the new capabilities and demonstrated the feasibility of the others. A critical component of our solution, the ability to import lunar terrain and place objects on the terrain, was completed in Phase I. Under the proposed Phase II effort, Remcom will complete the following features and incorporate them into Wireless InSite, our commercial modeling application: Graphical user interface to create lunar materials with user-specified parameters. Diffuse scattering enhancements to allow scattering from rocks buried in lunar regolith and to provide a user guide for setting parameters based on frequency, polarization, and statistical distributions of rock sizes and locations. Ray-tracing and electromagnetic calculations for interactions on curved surfaces using accelerated, end-to-end path discovery and processing. Extensions for post-processing results for link-level analysis of communication systems. The bulk of our proposed effort will be in the third area. Successful completion of the new, accelerated process will speed up Wireless InSite analysis of complex scenarios by an order of magnitude or more. It will also allow more accurate modeling of electromagnetic scattering from terrain and other features that have curved surfaces rather than flat surfaces with straight edges. Remcom proposes a complete, end-to-end modeling and simulation solution for lunar channel simulation and coverage analysis Key use cases Surface-to-surface: connectivity between lunar habitats, rovers, landers, and handheld devices Space/Satellite-to-ground: connectivity between orbital assets and surface for trunk links, navigation, and continuous coverage to remote regions Interference analysis: including between systems as well as sensitive radio astronomy equipment Base solution builds on mature existing products for 5G/Wifi channel simulation, including new lunar terrain and database of initial lunar surface material definitions added in Phase I. R&D to develop key new capabilities to address remaining gaps in state-of-the art: Dynamic and interactive material generation Capabilities and recommendations for surface and subsurface scattering Accelerated ray-tracing, enhanced for rugged terrain with curved surfaces Link-level post-processing tools to capture impact of multipath delay spread and Doppler Overall goal: wireless channel simulation capability with key new features and enhancements for lunar environments High-level objectives Improve flexibility and capabilities for defining physical and electrical properties of regolith and bedrock Develop model enhancements for surface / subsurface scattering; provide guidance for lunar parameters Develop enhancements to accelerated ray-tracing to better handle curved nature of rugged terrain Post-processing tools for link-level simulation to determine impact of key phenomena in lunar scenarios Deliverables Final Report, describing accomplishments, testing, R&D results, and conclusions Beta version of Wireless InSite software with enhancements for lunar coverage simulation

The ultimate outcome of this SBIR will be an enhanced version of the Wireless InSite simulation product, incorporating new data and algorithms for handling lunar materials, the unique terrain, and the impact of multipath fading, delay spread, and Doppler to communications. Given the challenges of lunar channel modeling and measurement, this will provide a valuable predictive tool for understanding the channel, planning placement of 4G/5G towers and relays, and estimating connectivity to difficult-to-reach regions. The following new features in Wireless InSite will be directly applicable to commercial and government terrestrial studies as well as lunar studies: Accelerated, end-to-end path discovery and processing for faster analysis of scenarios with longer ranges over rugged terrain. Interactions with curved surfaces Extensions for post-processing for link-level analysis

This is early/mid-stage (TRL 3) — the most realistic path in is NASA SBIR/STTR, which funds small businesses and research institutions to develop technology aligned with NASA's needs (equity-free, phased funding). Check whether a current SBIR/STTR solicitation topic overlaps with this project's technology area, or contact the project directly (above) to ask.

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