A UHF proximity micro-transceiver for Mars exploration

A UHF half-duplex micro-transceiver for future Mars exploration missions is described. The transceiver target specifications include a volume of less than 1 cm³, mass of less than 10 grams, and power consumption of <40 mW on receive and 50 mW, 300 mW, or 3 W on transmit. It is compatible with a subset of Prox-1 protocols and supports transmission rates from 1 to 4096 ksps, depending on RF link parameters, in BPSK or QPSK format. Command and control instructions can be received at 1 or 8 ksps. In addition to its low mass/power features, temperature compensation to -100 C and radiation tolerance to 100 krad allow operation outside of large, thermally controlled, shielded enclosures, further reducing the mass and complexity of exploration vehicles. Although designed around Mars missions and environmental constraints, the transceiver is expected to be useful as well in other proximity links where a small/low-power radio compatible with Prox-1 protocols is desired