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From Earth to the Gateway: Electric Field Tests Improve Lunar Communication

Artist’s rendering of NASA’s Gateway space station in lunar orbit, showing the Power and Propulsion Element (PPE) and the Habitation and Logistics Outpost (HALO), left, and a photograph of an antenna being tested in an anechoic chamber at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, right.

NASA/Robert Markowitz

Engineers at NASA’s Johnson Space Center recently began testing the electric field on communications equipment representative of Gateway, the first human space station to orbit the moon.

An orbiting laboratory for deep space science and a launching pad for lunar exploration, Gateway will help NASA and its international partners establish a sustainable human presence on and around the Moon in preparation for the next giant leap: human exploration of Mars.

High-gain antennas are an important part of Gateway’s communications and tracking system that connects operations across the vast distances of the lunar South Pole region, to Gateway orbiting the Moon, to Earth and back.

NASA conducts rigorous testing of the electric field levels emitted by the antennas to ensure safe and effective communication and to avoid interference with Gateway crew and equipment. By validating simulation models to accurately predict electric field levels, NASA can establish precise safety zones around the K/Ka-band parabolic reflector antennas to protect astronauts and equipment without sacrificing high-speed communications.

During this thorough testing process, engineers use electric field and waveguide probes, which measure the strength and quality of electromagnetic signals, to analyze the near-fields of a representative high-gain antenna. Robotic arms and optical tracking systems provide the precise measurements needed to validate the design. Testing is conducted in an anechoic chamber, a specialized room that provides a controlled environment for electromagnetic wave measurements.

“We are refining our model validation measurements, ensuring high accuracy in analyzing the electric fields emitted by Gateway’s high-gain antennas,” said Timothy Kennedy, one of the NASA engineers supervising the tests. “This helps reduce the antenna masking margins needed to protect equipment and crew, while maximizing communications coverage.”

The results are expected to help NASA better understand the electric field levels emitted by Gateway’s antennas and inform critical decisions about their safe operation during Artemis missions, ensuring that Gateway is a safe home for astronauts around the Moon.

In a test setup, a robotic arm manipulates a probe to test the electric field of a large, white, circular parabolic antenna. The antenna sits in an anechoic chamber lined with dark blue, wedge-shaped foam.

A probe held by a robotic arm measures the electric field levels emitted by an antenna during a test session in an anechoic chamber at NASA’s Johnson Space Center. The test results will be used to define the limits of the antennas in Gateway’s communications system.

NASA/Robert Markowitz