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Measuring the Structure, Composition, and Change of Underwater Environments with Large-area Imaging
Published on: April 18, 2025
431
Through-Ice Acoustic Communication for Ocean Worlds Exploration
Hyeong Jae Lee1, Yoseph Bar-Cohen1, Mircea Badescu1
1NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91109, USA.
Sensors (Basel, Switzerland)
|May 11, 2024
Summary
Wireless communication through deep ice is possible using acoustics. This technology could enable data and image transmission for subsurface probes on icy moons, overcoming tether limitations.
Area of Science:
- Planetary Science
- Geophysics
- Communications Engineering
Background:
- Subsurface exploration of ocean worlds requires communication through kilometers of ice.
- Tethered communication systems for ice-penetrating probes are prone to failure.
- Developing wireless deep-ice communication is crucial for mission success.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and demonstrate wireless communication capabilities through thick ice.
- To complement existing tethered communication methods for subsurface probes.
- To assess the feasibility of acoustic communication for ocean world exploration.
Main Methods:
- Acoustic transceivers were embedded in glacial ice at Matanuska Glacier, Alaska.
- Acoustic attenuation measurements were conducted in situ.
- Data and image files were transmitted wirelessly through ice at specific frequencies.
Main Results:
- Acoustic communication was demonstrated as viable through 100 meters of glacial ice.
- Successful transmission of data and image files was achieved in the 13-18 kHz frequency band.
- Preliminary results suggest feasibility for multi-kilometer communication at lower frequencies (around 1 kHz).
Conclusions:
- Wireless acoustic communication is a viable technology for deep-ice exploration.
- Further research is needed to characterize acoustic attenuation in refrozen boreholes for long-range communication.
- This technology has significant implications for future missions to ocean worlds.
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