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We propose to develop wireless transceivers that use acoustic pressure waves and radio frequency (RF) electromagnetic waves as complementary methods to establish critical communication capabilities for future Ocean Worlds sub-surface melt probes. These transceivers will employ novel piezoelectric ring transducers and RF patch antennas in relays to enable communication distances of >10 kilometers between transceivers using 10 W electrical power. The transceivers will be developed by leading experts in acoustics and RF, and with design constraints and requirements informed by geophysical models of Europa’s ice shell and a holistic Cryobot flight system architecture. The proposal addresses the reliance of Europa’s deep subsurface exploration via melt probes on the need to wirelessly communicate with the landed platform on the surface. The goal of this task is to develop a breadboard of a Cryogenic Communication (CryoComm) system that would serve as a wireless link between the lander and a Cryobot en route to the Europan ocean. CryoComm is a through-ice communication system that combines acoustic and RF methods using a minimal number of relays to reduce mission complexity and Cryobot mass and volume. Europa’s ice shell is inferred to consist of two primary regions: a cold and geologically brittle region with significant fractures and porosity, as well as a warm ductile region that may be nearly isothermal throughout. These regions may individually be more than 10 km thick and contribute to a total thickness of ~5 – 40 km. Each icy region poses unique challenges for communication between the Cryobot and the surface. The top region undergoes tidal deformation that may cause low-shear stresses (~100 kPa) on cracks that oscillate in sign diurnally. The shear forces in this region deprecate the mission robustness for solely-tethered communication in the brittle region of the ice shell. In this task, we will focus on the proof of concept, reducing risk by developing wireless communication for significantly large distances. For the acoustic transceivers, we will design and fabricate a novel piezoelectric ring transducer that requiring low electrical power (10 W) and generating a low resonant frequency (10 kHz). The transducer shape allows for compact stowage on the Cryobot. This design enables communication through ice over distances of >10 km. In a JPL internal study, power of 10 W was identified based on a small-scale radioisotope thermoelectric generator. The proposed task will focus on developing and demonstrating the acoustic ring transceiver technology that has been shown in preliminary analysis to enable communicating over such long distances through ice. The RF transceiver will also use a 10 W baseline for the design effort. For the RF, we will make a breadboard using a patch antenna with an operating frequency in the 0.5 – 2 GHz region and that can function at freezing temperatures. This antenna will be integrated with the acoustic transceiver to form the relay breadboard. The RF communication will be investigated using frequencies higher than the typical radioglaciology mapping frequencies for communications through ice. Demonstrating operation in kilometer-thick ices in the field is beyond the funding level of the COLDTech call. However, the modeling, analysis and experiments will establish the design tools and allow the proof of concept that provide the confidence in developing such capability. Initial laboratory validation will involve freezing the developed cold-tolerant transceivers into ice samples and demonstrating short-range data transmission. A subsequent field test will bury acoustic and RF transceivers in a glacier ice at Mt. Hood, Oregon, and demonstrate data transmission over a distance of 100 m by drilling and burying a pair of acoustic/RF transceivers at the two ends. The task will advance the TRL from 2 to 4 and provide an infusion path to future Ocean Worlds missions.
Developing Instrument or spacecraft technology to improve measurements for future planetary science missions
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