Wireless Channel Simulation for Antennas Mounted on Spacesuits and Lunar Vehicles

In this SBIR Phase I, Remcom proposes an extension to channel modeling and coverage analysis capabilities for lunar environments, directed toward addressing shortfalls associated with near-field effects around antennas mounted on spacesuits or lunar vehicles. One key area that poses challenges to simulation lies in the modeling of the complex, layered materials used in spacesuits and their impact on antenna radiation and ultimately on communication links. Several key scenarios for the Artemis missions involve communications between astronauts and 3GPP networks, or use of 3GPP sidelink or alternative protocols to allow device-to-device (D2D) communication between astronauts or network relay when one astronaut is out of network range. A robust simulation capability is needed to evaluate how the positions of single or multi-antenna configurations may impact communication performance in realistic lunar scenarios for these cases. Remcom proposes innovative approaches using Huygens surfaces to merge near-field and far-field domains, while addressing shortfalls in critical effects along surfaces along with accelerations to reduce computation times by multiple orders of magnitude. Key objectives include prototyping and analysis tasks to evaluate feasibility and provide a strong foundation for development of the ultimate capabilities in Phase II.