Barren, Irregular, Chaotic Terrain Ring Model for Lunar 5G Applications

Future lunar missions demand reliable wireless communication infrastructure, the design of which require accurate wireless channel models tailored to the unique lunar environment. Current models, such as Analytic Propagation Approximation over Variable Terrain (APA) model, Irregular Terrain Model (ITM), and Irregular Terrain with Obstructions Model (ITWOM), do not fully capture the chaotic propagation effects of the lunar environment, as they only account for a limited set of factors, including obstructions, multipath effects, and regolith properties. The proposed Barren Irregular, Chaotic Terrain Ring Model (BICTR), inspired by Jake’s model and the Two-ray model accounts for all of these factors. It is specifically designed for the lunar environments, which are characterized as barren with no foliage, irregular with varying terrain, and chaotic with numerous obstacles that block Line of sight (LOS). In comparison to ITM and ITWOM, BICTR is on average 7.52dBm and 9.90dBm, respectively, closer to the NASA Desert Research and Technologies Studies (NASA DRATS) lunar analog measurement campaign.