Telecommunications systems for the NASA Europa missions

Abstract

The telecommunications systems for two NASA deep-space missions to Jupiter's moon Europa are presented. One mission, Europa Clipper, is a Jovian orbiter with multiple Europa flybys; the other mission, Europa Lander, includes a Carrier and Relay Spacecraft (CRS), Deorbit Stage, Descent Stage (DS), and a Lander. Both missions are designed to communicate to Earth via the NASA Deep Space Network (DSN) and other ground stations. For Lander communications, both the CRS and Europa Clipper spacecraft are equipped with store-and-forward relay communication capability. The heart of each spacecraft's telecommunications system is the high-TRL Johns Hopkins University/Applied Physics Laboratory Frontier Radio, based on the Solar Probe Plus design. Other key telecommunnications hardware developments across the two missions include a 3-m dualband (X/Ka) high gain antenna (HGA), a GaN-based solid state power amplifier (SSPA) and slot-array HGA to enable the Lander communication system. All components must operate in a high-radiation environment and meet planetary protection requirements.