en.Wedoany.com Reported - NASA Glenn Research Center, Ansys, and Keysight Technologies will jointly demonstrate a hardware-in-the-loop lunar communication test platform at IMS 2026, capable of pre-deployment verification of wireless systems under simulated lunar radio frequency conditions. The demonstration will take place at Booth 20088, utilizing the NASA Glenn Simulation and Modeling (GEM) testbed to run real 3GPP (4G/5G) and Wi-Fi systems over simulated lunar surface channels.
The GEM testbed at NASA Glenn Research Center is designed to predict and verify end-to-end communication performance for lunar surface operations. Its technical core includes physics-based RF channel modeling and ray tracing, high-fidelity digital representations of lunar terrain, commercial RF channel simulation hardware, and real 3GPP (4G/5G) and Wi-Fi radio equipment. This integrated setup enables actual communication systems to operate under realistic lunar RF conditions within a laboratory environment.
By enabling hardware-in-the-loop testing, the platform can replace field trials during early development stages, thereby reducing reliance on expensive and complex testing under lunar-like conditions. Engineers can evaluate key performance indicators such as coverage, throughput, latency, shadowing effects, and multipath effects, and compare across different radio equipment, network protocol stacks, and configurations. This approach supports faster system development through a repeatable and controlled verification process.
The platform is specifically designed for surface-to-surface lunar communications, using site-specific terrain and realistic RF propagation models, and is scalable from early demonstrations to future lunar infrastructure. Its methodology is also extendable to other challenging environments on Earth. This work reflects a collaborative approach to developing practical tools for verifying communication systems in complex operational environments.
By providing a controlled and configurable verification environment, the method reduces reliance on expensive and complex field trials, supports consistent testing across scenarios, and accelerates system development through rapid iteration. This demonstration integrates NASA Glenn Research Center's expertise in lunar communications, Ansys's high-fidelity RF and mission modeling capabilities, and Keysight Technologies' RF channel simulation and measurement systems, offering an end-to-end workflow for evaluating wireless systems in lunar environments.
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