The Results of IGLUNA 2019 Trans-Ice Longwave Communication System Tests
Tomasz Aleksander · 2020 23rd International Microwave and Radar Conference (MIKON) · 2020
The 1st edition of the IGLUNA - a Habitat in Ice initiative and ESA_Lab demonstrator, run by the Swiss Space Center, was started in 2018 and concluded with a field campaign in June 2019 in Switzerland. A simulated lunar habitat, with a place for surface astronaut activities, was set up on the Klein Matterhorn, in and on the glacier. One of the experiments provided radio communication for the simulated astronauts - a successfully deployed longwave communication system allowed the crossing of the ice barrier between the habitat and the external environment, showing the utility and robustness of this technology in simulated space conditions. The achieved maximal signal range of 2077,06 km, with sufficient signal readability, presented the system as a widely-covering, which, including the very low consumed powers and relatively low total mass, shows it as a promising way of simple, reliable and direct communication for astronauts over a large distances on the Moon.