Performance Evaluation of Enhanced Slotted AlohaCA Protocol on Planet Mars

Abstract

The launch and successful operation of the Mars Cube One (MarCO) CubeSat in May 2018 heralded a new era in solar system exploration and the setup of the first Interplanetary CubeSat Network (ICN). The success of this mission could give rise of an Interplanetary DTN–Based CubeSat network, in which the CubeSat Nanosatellite, as DTN custody node, plays the role of Data Mule to collect data from rovers on a planet such as Mars.  In order to maximize the contact volume which is the amount of transmitting data from rovers to the CubeSat during its pass over their service zone, we will need to design an efficient MAC protocol. This research focuses on the simulation and evaluation of the performance of the Slotted AlohaCA MAC Protocol on the planet Mars compared to Earth taking into account the different properties between the two planets, such as radius, mass and speed of rotation of the Nanosatellite in its orbital at the same altitude. We have conducted many simulations using the NS2 simulator that takes into consideration the spatial dynamic behavior of the Nanosatellite, which is dependent on motion of the Nanosatellite in its orbit. Three appropriate performance measures are evaluated: Throughput, stability and power consumption. The   obtained simulation results on the planet Mars show an improvement on performance of the Slotted AlohaCA on the planet Mars compared to Earth.