← Back to NASA Technology Projects
Completed
The goal of this proposal is to develop communication technology for use between a lander and a probe that can penetrate many km of ice to support subsurface ocean exploration of Europa. The risks to communication in this scenario are unknown thickness and properties of the ice, and an extremely harsh environment with subzero temperatures and high radiation. To address these risks, we propose to develop a hybrid radio frequency (RF) and magneto-inductive (MI) transceiver that can achieve kbps data rates and penetrate multiple km of ice with varying conductive properties. Our system will be adaptive and will continue to operate at a lower data rate if the ice layer is harder to penetrate or deeper than expected.
Low-frequency RF communication propagates well through pure ice but its signal strength degrades significantly with temperature and conductivity of ice. MI communication can penetrate a highly conductive medium, but the magnetic field strength degrades as distance cubed, so data rate is low and a sensitive receiver is needed to detect a weak signal. RF and MI can be used in concert to overcome the deficiency of each when used standalone. RF compensates MI in data rate, and MI is relatively robust when propagating through different materials.
Our plan is to build two novel MI receivers in parallel, one at GRC based on a superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) and the other at JPL based on chip-scale atomic magnetometers (CSAM). The two devices are complementary because the SQUID with its higher sensitivity is capable of supporting longer-distance transmissions but it also requires cryocooling. The CSAM has a lower sensitivity and this results in a shorter communication distance but it can operate in ambient temperature. Once the receivers are complete, we will test them in an emulated ice channel in the lab, underwater, and outdoors to prove and mature the MI technology. By having two teams building two prototypes in parallel we will increase our chance for success. Working in tandem also encourages collaboration. Moreover, we are not starting from scratch and will be building on top of an ongoing NASA Innovative Advanced Concept (NIAC) project led by a member of our proposal team. We will also draw upon JPL’s expertise in building deep space atomic clocks. An atomic magnetometer is essentially an atomic clock minus a high frequency clock source and plus a coil to act as an antenna. To complete the MI link, we will build MI transmitters. At JPL we will also build an RF transceiver and integrate it with the MI receivers.
We envision three types of links: RF only, MI only (SQUID), and an MI-to-RF bridge (CSAM). The bridge link would utilize MI in the first part of the transmission path from the probe to the lander, where channel conditions are expected to be most unfavorable to RF (liquid water, slush, or higher-temperature ice). An RF/MI transceiver buried in the cold ice would then relay the data the rest of the way to the surface via RF. All things equal, the bridge link should offer the best solution, as it utilizes MI and RF to their respective strengths. To prove the three links, we will show that 1) the RF link can operate in parallel with the MI SQUID link and 2) the MI CSAM link can be demodulated and then remodulated onto an RF link. We will also conduct research on potential background noises (e.g., magnetic interference from neighboring Jupiter) and devise noise mitigation techniques.
RF antennas (metal sheets) and MI radiating elements (coils) are simple in construction and robust to cold and radiation. Our modulation and coding approach will be simple enough to fit entirely in a single triple-redundancy rad-hard FPGA. The solid-state radio electronics will draw heat from nuclear power sources on the probe and lander to survive the cold. Once developed, this technology could also be used for deep-ice exploration of ocean worlds on other icy moons such as Enceladus.
Developing Instrument or spacecraft technology to improve measurements for future planetary science missions
Listed on TechPort itself — the most direct way to ask about this specific project.
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.
None of these are guaranteed paths for this specific project — TechPort itself doesn't have an "apply" button. Reaching out to the contact(s) above with a specific question is usually the fastest way to find out what's actually open.