Single-Station-Based Integrated Communication-Positioning System for Mars Drones
- Paper ID
95710
- DOI
- author
- company
Research Center of Satellite Technology, Harbin Institute of Technology; Harbin Institute of Technology
- country
China
- year
2025
- abstract
Among the various methods for Mars exploration, rotary-wing drones represent a novel and highly efficient approach. However, the vast distance between Mars and Earth introduces significant communication delays, which fundamentally require these drones to operate autonomously. A key challenge lies in achieving accurate positioning of these drones under the constraints of limited available resources.\par Typically, drones on Earth utilize Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) to obtain their position. However, since there is no GNSS on Mars, relying solely on Inertial Navigation Systems (INS) inevitably leads to the issue of error accumulation. One potential solution is visual terrain matching using onboard cameras, as successfully demonstrated by NASA's Ingenuity helicopter. Nevertheless, the sparse and repetitive surface features of Mars can cause visual terrain matching to fail, which is considered one of the possible reasons for the crash during Ingenuity's 72nd flight. An alternative solution employs radio-based multilateration for positioning; however, deploying multiple base stations on the Martian surface poses significant technical challenges.\par To address the positioning challenges for drones in the initial phase of Mars exploration, we propose an integrated communication-positioning system utilizing a single base station mounted on a rover or deployer, which combines both functionalities through an antenna multiplexing design. By installling a 4-element antenna array on the dorne, a 2.4 GHz LoRa-based wireless communication link is established between the drone and the rover. This link is dedicated to transmitting telemetry data for the drone. Concurrently, the antenna array aids in the drone's positioning through a fusion algorithm that integrates pseudo-Doppler Angle of Arrival (AOA) estimation with Time of Flight (TOF) ranging. Additionally, the integration with the INS is accomplished through the use of an Extended Kalman Filter (EKF), thereby enhancing the positioning accuracy.\par The inherent long-range capability and anti-interference characteristics of the LoRa protocol enable adaptation to extended communication distances, while the adoption of radio waves circumvents the image mismatch issue caused by the homogeneous terrain features on the Martian surface.\par Through computer simulations, we have validated the theoretical feasibility of the proposed scheme and determined critical parameters such as antenna spacing. A prototype was developed utilizing an ARM microcontroller，with the antenna and signal processing modules integrated through printed circuit board (PCB) technology. Preliminary experiments indicate that the prototype achieves the intended system functionality while maintaining a total mass below 300g.