Lunar Science: Internet for Space Tourism

The increased interest in space exploration drives the development of novel technologies that are useful in other areas, such as aviation. The use of these technologies gives rise to new challenges and applications. Space tourism is an emerging application due to advances in space exploration technologies. This paper addresses two challenges aimed at ensuring continued internet access in space tourism. The first is designing network architecture to ensure continued internet access for space tourists aboard a space vehicle. The second is using aerial vehicle technology to enhance access to cloud content in areas with poor telecommunication infrastructure. The paper proposes the distributed handover algorithm ensuring that the space vehicle can execute handover from terrestrial wireless networks to aerial platforms and satellites as a last mile connection. It also proposes the concept of aerial diversity ensuring low cost access to cloud content. Performance simulation shows that the use of the distributed handover algorithm enhances channel capacity by 18.4% on average and reduces latency by 11.6% on average. The use of the cloud content access system incorporating aerial diversity enhances the channel capacity of terrestrial wireless networks by up to 85% on average

Efficient spectrum-handoff schemes for cognitive radio networks

Radio spectrum access is important for terrestrial wireless networks, commercial earth observations and terrestrial radio astronomy observations. The services offered by terrestrial wireless networks, commercial earth observations and terrestrial radio astronomy observations have evolved due to technological advances. They are expected to meet increasing users' demands which will require more spectrum. The increasing demand for high throughput by users necessitates allocating additional spectrum to terrestrial wireless networks. Terrestrial radio astronomy observations s require additional bandwidth to observe more spectral windows. Commercial earth observation requires more spectrum for enhanced transmission of earth observation data. The evolution of terrestrial wireless networks, commercial earth observations and terrestrial radio astronomy observations leads to the emergence of new interference scenarios. For instance, terrestrial wireless networks pose interference risks to mobile ground stations; while inter-satellite links can interfere with terrestrial radio astronomy observations. Terrestrial wireless networks, commercial earth observations and terrestrial radio astronomy observations also require mechanisms that will enhance the performance of their users. This thesis proposes a framework that prevents interference between terrestrial wireless networks, commercial earth observations and terrestrial radio astronomy observations when they co-exist; and enhance the performance of their users. The framework uses the cognitive radio; because it is capable of multi-context operation. In the thesis, two interference avoidance mechanisms are presented. The first mechanism prevents interference between terrestrial radio astronomy observations and inter-satellite links. The second mechanism prevent interference between terrestrial wireless networks and the commercial earth observation ground segment. The first interference reductionmechanism determines the inter-satellite link transmission duration. Analysis shows that interference-free inter-satellite links transmission is achievable during terrestrial radio astronomy observation switching for up to 50.7 seconds. The second mechanism enables the mobile ground station, with a trained neural network, to predict the terrestrial wireless network channel idle state. The prediction of the TWN channel idle state prevents interference between the terrestrial wireless network and the mobile ground station. Simulation shows that incorporating prediction in the mobile ground station enhances uplink throughput by 40.6% and reduces latency by 18.6%. In addition, the thesis also presents mechanisms to enhance the performance of the users in terrestrial wireless network, commercial earth observations and terrestrial radio astronomy observations. The thesis presents mechanisms that enhance user performance in homogeneous and heterogeneous terrestrial wireless networks. Mechanisms that enhance the performance of LTE-Advanced users with learning diversity are also presented. Furthermore, a future commercial earth observation network model that increases the accessible earth climatic data is presented. The performance of terrestrial radio astronomy observation users is enhanced by presenting mechanisms that improve angular resolution, power efficiency and reduce infrastructure costs

Generic Computing-Assisted Geometric Search for Human Design and Origins

Scientific space research aims to investigate human origins and provide explanation on how life originated on the earth. This has led to the emergence of theories such as the Panspermia theory. The Panspermia theory opines that life originated from extra-terrestrial sources. However, the Panspermia theory does not consider the influence of cognition and intelligence in microorganisms that are thought to seed life on the earth. However, it is feasible to consider intelligent microorganisms as determining the life-forms that can arise from different cell aggregations. This chapter considers that the pre-determination of the geometry of this feasible life-forms that takes place in Mars’s meteorites. The discussion in this chapter proposes the Mars geometric Panspermia theory which is hinged on this perspective. The chapter presents the conceptual perspective for the Mars geometric Panspermia theory. It also presents network architecture and a data acquisition strategy suitable for capital constrained organizations. The capital constrained organizations are space organizations in developing countries. The low cost acquisition strategy proposes the use of open source software and hardware for components used in Mars exploration missions. In addition, the chapter proposes rover data sharing to enable capital constrained space organizations to execute their science objectives in Mars’s space missions

Intelligent Cognitive Radio Models for Enhancing Future Radio Astronomy Observations

Radio astronomy organisations desire to optimise the terrestrial radio astronomy observations by mitigating against interference and enhancing angular resolution. Ground telescopes (GTs) experience interference from intersatellite links (ISLs). Astronomy source radio signals received by GTs are analysed at the high performance computing (HPC) infrastructure. Furthermore, observation limitation conditions prevent GTs from conducting radio astronomy observations all the time, thereby causing low HPC utilisation. This paper proposes mechanisms that protect GTs from ISL interference without permanent prevention of ISL data transmission and enhance angular resolution. The ISL transmits data by taking advantage of similarities in the sequence of observed astronomy sources to increase ISL connection duration. In addition, the paper proposes a mechanism that enhances angular resolution by using reconfigurable earth stations. Furthermore, the paper presents the opportunistic computing scheme (OCS) to enhance HPC utilisation. OCS enables the underutilised HPC to be used to train learning algorithms of a cognitive base station. The performances of the three mechanisms are evaluated. Simulations show that the proposed mechanisms protect GTs from ISL interference, enhance angular resolution, and improve HPC utilisation

Intelligent Cognitive Radio Models for Enhancing Future Radio Astronomy Observations

Radio astronomy organisations desire to optimise the terrestrial radio astronomy observations by mitigating against interference and enhancing angular resolution. Ground telescopes (GTs) experience interference from intersatellite links (ISLs). Astronomy source radio signals received by GTs are analysed at the high performance computing (HPC) infrastructure. Furthermore, observation limitation conditions prevent GTs from conducting radio astronomy observations all the time, thereby causing low HPC utilisation. This paper proposes mechanisms that protect GTs from ISL interference without permanent prevention of ISL data transmission and enhance angular resolution. The ISL transmits data by taking advantage of similarities in the sequence of observed astronomy sources to increase ISL connection duration. In addition, the paper proposes a mechanism that enhances angular resolution by using reconfigurable earth stations. Furthermore, the paper presents the opportunistic computing scheme (OCS) to enhance HPC utilisation. OCS enables the underutilised HPC to be used to train learning algorithms of a cognitive base station. The performances of the three mechanisms are evaluated. Simulations show that the proposed mechanisms protect GTs from ISL interference, enhance angular resolution, and improve HPC utilisation