Wireless network for Mars

or other inconvenient places

Mars Desert Research Station

• To research living and conducting science in new environments
• Desert area near Hanksville, Utah
• Unforgiving weather; heat, cold, storms, wind
• Much of the research is conducted outside
• Limited cell signals, just like Mars

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Note it's a closed campus. No visitors. Join a crew.

Communications

• Starlink -- Internet uplink
• WiFi -- use near main building
• VHF radio repeater -- wider walkie-talkie coverage
• Satellite communicators -- expensive, inconvenient, making infrequent contact

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Site-wide communication is needed -- for research and safety

Adding LoRa wireless: Meshtastic

• Long-Range -- 15km line-of-sight
• Low data rates -- texting, position, weather data
• Small and portable -- both infrastructure and handheld radios
• Solar, battery powered -- low power requirement
• Organic -- stations form a redundant mesh
• Inexpensive -- stations cost around $200

Choosing Locations

• Choose places with a view
• Prefer sites that see each other
• Adapt when finding gaps

Add software to build on the basic network

• Digital twin in MarsComms using Meta Quest VR
• Identity and messaging
• Emergency essentials
• Location awareness
• History of travel and messages

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https://github.com/bmidgley/mars-evalink

MarsComms

Identity and Messaging

Emergency Essentials

Needed for an emergency response

• Who
• What
• When
• Where

Clicking the location opens a map

Radios in Suits

Portable radios added to suits would provide automatic joining the mesh when suits get powered on.

We don't need additional physical access to the mesh node. It has a small screen but we don't need to give the astronaut access to read it.

The astronaut can connect to it using a cell phone over bluetooth to do additional mesh communication. We assign a fixed pin so the screen isn't required for pairing.

Location Awareness

History

Research area -- speech to text

• Sometimes VHF radios are out of range
• Pi listens and senses when PTT is pressed
• Pi converts speech to text and sends it on mesh
• Even with mistakes, we know who is talking
• Adapt early experiment to whisper or vosk STT
• Try a mobile Pi with its own mesh radio
• Record high-fidelity audio for use later

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMkGpYlth6w

Research area -- wrist comms

Sightings

Starting Out Suggestions

• Ready-built like T-Deck Plus or Tracker T1000e
• Update firmware
• Client-Mute or Client-hidden mode
• Consider GPS off
• Pair your phone and use it
• Fancy UI is not ready
• Some gear is more experimental (linux native)
• Removable antenna options
• Some devices have PCB contacts for i2c
• weather sensors
• voltage and current sensor
• Air quality
• sx1262 is better than sx1276

https://meshtastic.org/blog/choosing-the-right-device-role/

Device Roles (yes, the names are confusing)

• Mountain Tops Only
• Router: priority rebroadcast
• Repeater: priority rebroadcast, no telemetry
• Building Tops Only
• Client: extending mesh
• Typical Choices
• Client-mute: most common, GPS sharing, like APRS
• Client-hidden: low battery use (t-watch)
• Tracker: priority location

References

• github.com/bmidgley/mars-evalink
• harukitoreda.github.io/Meshtastic-Experiments/LoRa-Boards-Comparison-Table
• github.com/Nestpebble/NiceRa/blob/main/Lora_Modules.md
• gpx.studio/app#13.37/40.47934/-111.85442
• openlayers.org/doc/
• fosdem.org/2025/schedule/event/fosdem-2025-4375-meshtastic-off-grid-communication-for-everyone/
• meshtastic.org/blog/meshtastic-site-planner-introduction/
• meshtastic.org/docs/software/integrations/integrations-atak-plugin/
• blm-egis.maps.arcgis.com/apps/instant/sidebar/index.html?appid=e84f92a84afb44b1ad7f65984332b4f2

Brad Midgley <bmidgley@gmail.com>