Novel Approach for Mars Entry Blackout Elimination Based on X-Ray Communication

Abstract

An approach is presented for eliminating communication blackout caused by the plasma sheath encountered during the Mars atmospheric entry phase. On the basis of the high penetration of X-ray beams, the expectation was to avoid communication interruptions by establishing an X-ray communication link between the Mars orbiter and the entry vehicle. In this study, the plasma penetration performance of X-rays is evaluated based on the numerical method. The transmission properties of an X-ray beam in the Martian atmosphere were assessed based on the Monte Carlo simulation. The performance of X-ray communication links in the blackout region is evaluated, and the minimum transmitting power required for low bit-error-rate communication is obtained. The results show that an X-ray beam can not only pass through the plasma sheath generated during the atmospheric entry phase without attenuation but also penetrate the atmosphere and establish a stable communication link between a Mars orbiter and the entry vehicle.