NASA Grants SBIR to Remcom for Simulation of Space Project

Remcom has earned a new Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I contract from NASA to develop enhanced wireless channel modeling capabilities for antennas mounted on astronaut spacesuits and lunar vehicles. The award builds upon earlier work from Remcom that supported NASA’s Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) program and the Artemis lunar exploration missions. 

Prior efforts focused on macro-scale lunar network planning, but the current strategy is to help NASA engineers design and verify communication links for astronauts operating on the Moon’s surface via enhancements in Wireless InSite 3D Wireless Prediction Software.

Wireless InSite will leverage Huygens surfaces to integrate near-field and far-field antenna behavior around astronauts and the structures they interact with in the lunar environment. Additionally, acceleration methods will be employed to reduce simulation runtimes by one to two orders of magnitude.

The project will address Artemis needs with resulting technologies that will benefit commercial wireless device design, especially for wearables and on-body sensors.

“Modeling antennas in close proximity to complex structures like spacesuits introduces new electromagnetic challenges that are not well addressed by traditional simulation approaches,” says Greg Skidmore, Remcom’s director of propagation software and program manager of the effort. “This contract provides the opportunity to prototype unique solutions that ensure astronauts stay connected, whether they’re exploring craters or conducting operations outside line-of-sight, providing NASA with a more realistic understanding of communication performance in dynamic lunar scenarios.”

About Remcom

For 30 years, Remcom has provided electromagnetic simulation and wireless propagation software for commercial users and U.S. government sponsors. 

Sources: Press materials received from the company and additional information gleaned from the company’s website.