Technology for Sending Signals Through the Ice on Ocean Worlds (STI Tech)

Developing robust communication hardware that can provide data transfer rates adequate to achieve science and exploration objectives will be critical for any future mission that aims to traverse through the ice shell and reach the oceans of Europa, Enceladus and other ocean worlds. To reach the ocean, a probe must be able to travel and communicate through a layer of ice overlying the ocean, potentially several kilometers (kms) thick that varies in its properties, e.g. thermal and compositional, with depth. Also, tidal motion induces fracturing in the ice and repeating strain that any communication hardware must endure. These challenges in the subsurface may favor a communication approach consisting of multiple communication modalities, varying as a function of depth. We propose two tasks to address COLDTech technical area 1.1, “Through-the-Ice Communication,” to develop hardware for two strategies of communication for an ice probe: optical tethers and RF free-space transmitter/receiver modules. The proposed work builds on the progress of our Europa STI SESAME project, including laboratory work resulting in promising initial results for lightweight optical tethers used in marine robotics applications. Initial results indicate the tether maintains optical connectivity when sheared between polycrystalline ice faults within a cryogenic biaxial deformation rig at Europa temperatures (~100K), however additional hazards including adhesion, shear geometry, and surrounding ice chemistry require further tether development and evaluation. Additionally, Europa STI modeled requirements for RF communication through ice and specified a potential antenna design, yet concerns exist on the RF module design for surviving the temperature and pressure environment of an ocean world ice shell. COLDTech funding would enable critical additional work to modify aspects of the tether and RF module designs and evaluation of hardware through testing in these harsh conditions. Tasks include: 1) Optical tether design, build, and test for ocean world (Europa & Enceladus) conditions - Cryogenic shear, adhesion, and tensile testing for durability and data-transfer performance - Develop purpose-built tether prototypes - Performance analyses 2) RF Relay module design, build, and test for ocean world (Europa & Enceladus) conditions - Thermo-mechanical modeling and analysis of notional design - Thermo-mechanical testing A communication architecture report, the final deliverable by this project, will be a culmination of our experimental and design efforts to NASA to inform on how to strategically apply each of the two optical tether and RF relay module communication technologies in certain regions of ocean world ice shells. The project will focus on challenges as applicable for Europa and Enceladus as particular case members of the group of known and potential ocean worlds in our solar system. Additional testing/development, not within this project scope, would be needed for other ocean world environments such as on Titan where other chemical compositions exist. The STI Tech project proposed here is relevant to the COLDTech solicitation as it will develop hardware for “subsurface exploration of ocean worlds such as Europa and Enceladus to develop and reduce the technical risk of technology so that they may eventually be incorporated into future flight missions.” This project will develop optical and RF communication hardware for technical area 1.1, “Through-The-Ice Communication.” Tasks described above will develop hardware to be robust to “the environmental challenges posed by Europa” in order to “enable communication through many kilometers of ice” Additionally, the project will consider the constraints for spaceflight (e.g. mass limits) and needed data transfer rates/volumes expected for the science observations and ice probe control.

Developing Instrument or spacecraft technology to improve measurements for future planetary science missions

This is a mature technology (TRL 7+) — the realistic path in is usually NASA's Technology Transfer Program: licensing an existing NASA patent, or a Space Act Agreement to use NASA facilities/expertise directly. NASA also runs a startup licensing program with no upfront fee for companies formed to commercialize a specific NASA technology.

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