ASTE 527:

Space Exploration Architectures Concept Synthesis Studio

“LASE”

Lunar Architecture for

Simplified Exchange

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Final Presentation

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University of Southern California

Viterbi School of Engineering

Chit Saraswat

13 May 2025

csaraswa@usc.edu

Page 1

• TIME - Timeline for IMMEDIATE Moon Expeditions
• Accelerate human settlement on the Moon via manned missions and enabling infrastructure
• Agility: use existing hardware to facilitate this mission

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• Problem Statement
• Urgent need for a low-latency, high-capacity, highly available communications backbone in cislunar space
• Navigation, mission data, real-time communications
• Needs at least several Hundreds of Megabits per second (Mbps+) per link

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• Current Plans

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Page 2

Real-Time Context

13 May 2025

How can we enhance the planned communication architectures?

LunaNet: NASA/ESA concept for an extensible network

LCRNS: NASA concept for comm relays in cislunar space

• Free Space Optical Communications (i.e., “lasercom” links) have several advantages over radio frequency (RF) communications:
• RF is crowded; spectrum management limits bandwidth for users
• Higher frequency (IR) -> more available bandwidth -> more data throughput (Gbps!)
• Higher frequency -> smaller components, less SWAP
• Narrow beamwidth -> less interference and more secure
• Matured and proven over the past several years with a variety of experiments:

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Page 3

Value Proposition of FSOC

13 May 2025

Lasercom is a proven and effective means of transmitting large quantities of data

2013

2021

Ongoing

Ongoing

2026

Artemis II O2O

Starlink

Psyche

Shannon-Hartley Theorem

Data throughput is a function of bandwidth and SNR

• Lunar Architecture for Simplified Exchange (LASE)
• Proliferated lasercom constellation in Lunar Orbit
• “Starlink for the Moon”
• Layered implementation in two phases

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• Phase I: Rapid Proliferation in LLO
• ”Frozen orbits” offer stability
• i = 27°, 50°, 76°, and 86°
• Supplement with other inclinations for coverage
• Beware of MASCONS!
• Many satellites per plane
• Near-constant availability
• Switchable & redundant links
• 3 optical heads and 1 RF antenna each
• Optical crosslinks and direct-to-earth links
• RF links to lunar-based users (for now!)

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• Phase II: Lunar Surface Infrastructure
• Build the ”data nexus” on the near side
• Optical towers on the moon – retire RF
• Fiber optics underground – just like on Earth!

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Page 4

Concept Architecture - LASE

13 May 2025

Proliferated lasercom architecture is a proven solution to establish lunar data backbone

• Most of the components are available today!
• Optical heads
• Reuse designs from NASA demonstrations
• RF antennas for ground-based users
• Commercially available for Starlink
• Spacecraft bus
• Many options for smallsats (e.g., NG ESPASat, commercial startups, etc.)
• Launch Vehicle – Starship (soon), Falcon 9

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Timeline for Fielding LASE

13 May 2025

Low schedule risk to develop Phase I within a few years; Phase II is longer-term

• The technology and architectures needed to develop a communications backbone exist today!
• Lasercom is the future of communications and should be the standard going forward
• It can be used to augment the current plan for LunaNet and LCRNS

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• LASE offers a rapid, relatively inexpensive solution to routing data for cislunar operations
• Technology has been proven through many NASA demonstrations and operationally used by SpaceX

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• LASE will establish the navigations, communications, and mission data pathway for all future lunar systems to use
• It helps us get back to the Moon – immediately!

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Page 6

Summary

13 May 2025

LASE establishes the communications highway for all future lunar architectures

“Artemis II O2O.” Nasa.gov, 2025, www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/microsoftteams-image_11_1.jpg?w=1536. Accessed 13 May 2025.

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“LCRD.” Ytimg.com, 2025, i.ytimg.com/vi/OAFkd5DdLZU/hqdefault.jpg. Accessed 13 May 2025.

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“LLCD.” Nasa.gov, 2025, www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/llcd-0.jpg. Accessed 13 May 2025.

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“LLST.” Stanford.edu, 2025, ssi-wiki.stanford.edu/w/images/6/64/LLST_Ground_Stations.jpg. Accessed 13 May 2025.

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“Psyche.” Asu.edu, 2025, psyche.asu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Psyche-gallery-5-640x420.jpg. Accessed 13 May 2025.

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“Starlink.” Pcmag.com, 2025, i.pcmag.com/imagery/articles/03kuy8VWseVbd817KKEfI0k-1..v1706635187.png. Accessed 13 May 2025.

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Payloadspace.com, 2025, payloadspace.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Mk3_FrontBack_blue.jpeg. Accessed 13 May 2025.

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“LASERCOM Key to Building Internet in Space.” The Aerospace Corporation, https://aerospace.org/sites/default/files/2023-05/FY23_12205_SOP_Lasercom%20Ppr_r10.pdf.

Accessed 6 May 2025.

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“{\Displaystyle C=B\Log _{2}\Left(1+{\Frac {S}{N}}\Right)}.” Wikimedia.org, 2025, wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/media/math/render/svg/cd8e56f09c4da5480c1ddfd15855f2cc803938f4. Accessed 13 May 2025.

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References [1 of 2]

13 May 2025

Page 8

Harebottle, Adrienne. “Satellite Manufacturing in the Era of Mass Production.” Satellitetoday.com, 19 Aug. 2021, interactive.satellitetoday.com/via/september-2021/satellite-manufacturing-in-the-era-of-mass-production.

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LunaNet: Empowering Artemis with Communications and Navigation Interoperability - NASA. 7 Oct. 2021, www.nasa.gov/humans-in-space/lunanet-empowering-artemis-with-communications-and-navigation-interoperability/.

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“Lunar Communications Relay and Navigation Systems.” Tempo.gsfc.nasa.gov, tempo.gsfc.nasa.gov/projects/LCRNS.

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“NOAA’s GOES-U Satellite Launches - NASA.” NASA, 26 June 2024, www.nasa.gov/image-article/noaas-goes-u-satellite-launches/.

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O’Callaghan, Jonathan. “Kilometre-High Concrete Towers on the Moon Could Power a Lunar Base.” New Scientist, 9 Mar. 2021, www.newscientist.com/article/2270528-kilometre-high-concrete-towers-on-the-moon-could-power-a-lunar-base/. Accessed 13 May 2025.

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“SpaceX Launches 26 Starlink Satellites from Vandenberg – Spaceflight Now.” Spaceflightnow.com, 2025, spaceflightnow.com/2025/05/09/live-coverage-spacex-to-launch-26-starlink-satellites-on-falcon-9-rocket-from-vandenberg-2/. Accessed 13 May 2025.

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Mit.edu, 2025, news.mit.edu/sites/default/files/styles/news_article__image_gallery/public/images/202410/5_3-architecture-lores_copy.jpeg?itok=sEgoJpmV. Accessed 13 May 2025.

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“A Constellation of Satellites around the Moon.” Www.esa.int, www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2021/05/A_constellation_of_satellites_around_the_Moon.

References [2 of 2]

13 May 2025