Communication system on the Rover

Our systems on the rover will use tested technology, not cutting edge.  The communication system will be capable of transmitting at a high data rate.  This is important to send the video and pictures back during the two mooncasts.

The system will also be able to receive commands from earth at all times through orbital satellite or direct line of sight communication with earth.  The lander will have communication to an orbital satellite.  The rover can communicate with the lander.  The rover can also send data to the orbital satellite.  To make sure that our mooncasts get back to earth, the rover can also send transmissions to earth when it is in line of sight.  These systems are redundant but they back each other up in this important task.

Our rover will be able to last through the entire planned mission (and beyond).  It has enough power for communication over a long period of time due to the ability to recharge at the charging station.  The communication with the earth are in X-band and us a high gain directional dish and a low gain omni-directional antenna.  The UHF antenna is used by the rover to communicate with the orbiting satellite.

Other Features:

Surface area of antenna limited to one m2

Power 100 w limit

Mass 15 KG limit

Thermal protection during lunar night (low temp.) and lunar day (high temp.)

Protection from lunar dust and micro-meteorites

Compact storage for travel to the moon

Use high gain phased array antenna using X band, 10MHz, to transmit to earth at high data rate (7.5 

   Mbps or better)

Antenna size - .5 m with over 700 transmitter elements

Use omnidirectional antenna (VHF/UHF) to receive commands from earth