Communication system architectures for missions to Mars-a preliminary investigation

This paper presents various communication system architectures for multiple-link communications with single aperture (MULSA) ground station. The proposed architectures are capable of supporting a multiplicity of spacecraft that are within the beamwidth of a single ground station antenna simultaneously. Both short and long term proposals to address this scenario are discussed. In addition, the paper also discusses the top-level system designs of the proposed architectures and identifies the associated advantages and disadvantages for each system