7.4 Communications Subsystem

The constraints for the Communications Subsystem consist of communication capability with the Deep Space Network (DSN), a minimum mission duration of one year after arrival at Europa, and data storage capabilities on the SOM. According to DSN requirements, the downlink frequency is around 32 GHz and the up-link frequency is around 2.2 GHz. The lander is capable of communicating with Earth for at least one year. The link budgets for communications between the SOM and Earth, and communications between the WISP and the SOM are included in Appendix 12.

A summary of the Communications Subsystem is given in Table 8.

  

Table 8: Communications Subsystem Summary

Antenna	Frequency	Gain	Data Rate
	(Hz)	(dB)	(bps)
High Gain Antenna	$32\times10^9$	53	50,000
Low Gain Antenna	$2.2\times10^9$	10	10
Acoustic	200	0	75