Related papers: Interstellar flyby scientific data downlink design
A downlink for the return of scientific data from space probes at interstellar distances is studied. The context is probes moving at relativistic speed using a terrestrial directed-energy beam for propulsion, necessitating very-low mass…
Building on a preliminary paper design of a downlink from a swarm of low-mass interstellar probes for returning scientific data from the vicinity of Proxima Centauri, the most critical technology issues are summarized, and their…
The design of mission scenarios for the flyby investigation of nearby star systems by probes launched using directed energy is addressed. Multiple probes are launched with a fixed launch infrastructure, and download of scientific data…
Recent technological advances could make interstellar travel possible, using ultra-lightweight sails pushed by lasers or solar photon pressure, at speeds of a few percent the speed of light. Obtaining remote observational data from such…
Free space optical communication techniques have been the subject of numerous investigations in recent years, with multiple missions expected to fly in the near future. Existing methods require high pointing accuracies, drastically driving…
Low-mass probes propelled by directed energy from earth are an early option for exploration of nearby star systems. A challenging aspect of such technology is returning scientific observational data to earth. We compare two configurations…
Interstellar communications are achievable with gram-scale spacecraft using swarm techniques introduced herein if an adequate energy source, clocks and a suitable communications protocol exist. The essence of our approach to the…
Breakthrough Starshot is an initiative to propel a sailcraft to Alpha Centauri within the next generation. As the sailcraft transits Alpha Centauri at 0.2 c, it looks for signs of life by imaging planets and gathering other scientific data.…
Extraterrestrial communication signals are hypothesized to be present in an extensive search space. Using principles of communication theory and system design, methods are studied and implemented to reduce the signal search space, while…
In the future interstellar exploration at near-relativistic speeds will be possible using beamed energy laser propulsion. With this, spacecraft as small as gm mass picospacecraft become candidates for the exploration of deep space, with a…
This work focuses on the downlink communication of a multiuser MIMO system where the base station antennas and the users' receiving antennas are all active, but at each transmission, only a subset of the receive antennas is selected by the…
A system of synchronized radio telescopes is utilized to search for hypothetical wide bandwidth interstellar communication signals. Transmitted signals are hypothesized to have characteristics that enable high channel capacity and minimally…
We consider transmission of system information in massive MIMO. This information needs to be reliably delivered to inactive users in the cell without any channel state information at the base station. Downlink transmission entails the use…
We have explored the optimal frequency of interstellar photon communications and benchmarked other particles as information carriers in previous papers of this series. We now compare the latency and bandwidth of sending probes with…
An air-to-ground free-space optical communication system has been designed and partially developed. The design covers both the communications between the airborne and the ground station, and the acquisition, tracking and pointing. A strong…
It has recently been suggested in this journal by Benford (2019) that "Lurkers" in the form of interstellar exploration probes could be present in the solar system. Similarly, extraterrestrial intelligence could send long-lived probes to…
Although a significant number satellites are deemed essential for facilitating diverse applications of satellite networks, aerial platforms are emerging as excellent alternatives for enabling reliable communications with fewer satellites.…
The discovery of interstellar communication signals is complicated by the presence of radio interference. Consequently, interstellar communication signals are hypothesized to have properties that favor discovery in high levels of local…
Interstellar objects (ISOs) represent a compelling and under-explored category of celestial bodies, providing physical laboratories to understand the formation of our solar system and probe the composition and properties of material formed…
We develop a model for an interstellar communication network that is composed of relay nodes that transmit diffraction-limited beams of photons. We provide a multi-dimensional rationale for such a network of communication in lieu of…