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Aerospace Wireless Research

Wi-Fi for Mars expedition simulations

Ensuring seamless voice and data transmission during Austrian Space Forum’s analog Mars missions

Updated on 09-Dec-2025 🛈

When the first crewed mission to Mars takes off thirty years from now, failsafe communications will be vital. “If communications break down, you have hours before someone gets in serious trouble,” explains Dr. Gernot Grömer, Director of the Austrian Space Forum (OeWF) and long-standing analog astronaut. He notes that this is true for both of communications between Mars and Earth and between astronauts and base camp.

A friendly man, about 50 years old, wearing rimless glasses, smiles at the camera and is dressed in a uniform of the Austrian Space Forum.

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If communications break down, you have hours before someone gets in serious trouble.

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Dr. Gernot Grömer: he holds a PhD in astrophysics and joined the OeWF in 2003 as an analog astronaut, of which he is now the director.

The Austrian Space Forum regularly goes on expeditions in terrestrial regions similar to Mars to prepare for future missions to the Red Planet. The analog missions have gone everywhere from the Kaunertal glacier in Tyrol, Austria to the Ararat desert in Armenia.

Sunset in Morocco with analog astronaut and Mars rover

2013, Morocco

A Mars-like desert in Morocco in 2013: the Magma Rover carries an experiment from the University of Innsbruck. The long antenna on the back of the AOUDA.X spacesuit transmits vital parameters and video data from the helmet camera.

An analog astronaut in his space suit in the middle of big stalactites in a cave. He is part of the Mars analog mission in the Kaunertal glacier that took place in the year 2015.

2015, Kaunertal glacier

The Kaunertal glacier in Tyrol in 2015: since Mars is not just red sand but also has caves, analog missions also cover cave expeditions.

White round tents and containers in a red sand desert arranged in a rectangle. They form the basecamp for the 2018 Mars analog mission in Oman called AMADEE-18.

2018, Oman

Back to the desert in 2018. This time in Oman: you could easily think of Luke Skywalkers homeworld Tatooine but the official mission name is AMADEE-18. The Dhofar region was chosen because it is similar in geography and history to the highly researched volcanic region of Hardriaca Patera on Mars.

The Magma Rover carries an experiment from the University of Innsbruck. The long antenna on the back of the AOUDA.X spacesuit transmits vital parameters and video data from the helmet camera.

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Since Mars is not just red sand but also has caves, analog missions also cover cave expeditions.

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You could easily think of Luke Skywalkers homeworld Tatooine but the official mission name is AMADEE-18. The Dhofar region in Oman was chosen because it is similar in geography and history to the highly researched volcanic region of Hardriaca Patera on Mars.

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LANCOM Systems' outdoor Wi-Fi connects analogue Mars crew

An outdoor Wi-Fi system is used to communicate between the base station and the astronauts. The Wi-Fi equipment comes from the Rohde & Schwarz global technology group member LANCOM Systems, which has now equipped seven analog missions with network technology. This includes the most ambitious project to date, "World's Biggest Analog" from October 2025.

Wi-Fi systems are responsible for far more than just voice communications. Video streams from helmet cameras, data on more than 50 parameters from a network of sensors on the Mars spacesuit simulators and control and communications with Mars vehicles are all transmitted via Wi-Fi. The same applies to data from over a dozen scientific experiments that are carried out during missions.

A friendly looking woman with blond hair in her working uniform from the Austrian Space Forum.

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Analog missions not only place great demand on people moving around in 50 kg Mars spacesuit simulators but also the equipment is subject to extreme conditions.

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Dr. Carmen Köhler: she holds a PhD in physics and manages her own company for weather and earth observation data. In 2015 she joined the OeWF as the first female analog astronaut.

Access points ready for desert conditions

The outdoor access points are easy to set up and use. They can withstand tough environmental conditions. “Analog missions not only place great demand on people moving around in 50 kg Mars spacesuit simulators but also the equipment is subject to extreme conditions,” says Dr. Carmen Köhler, who has been an analog astronaut with the Austrian Space Forum since 2015. “When used outside, the access points have to withstand sandstorms and cope with the extreme temperature fluctuations found in the desert.” Each mission uses ten to twenty access points and extenders to increase range.

A closeup of an outdoor Wi-Fi access point in the mountains at dusk. You see the rising sun in the background. This is the analog mars mission site in Armenia in the year 2024.

Armenia, 2024

When the sun rises, the LANCOM outdoor access point is already at work to provide Wi-Fi for the mission site at about 1100 meters altitude in Armenia in 2024. This place was selected for its geological and topographic similarity to Mars.

Two analog astronauts in silver Mars suits walk in line through the Negev Desert during daytime. There are many red stones and rocks on the ground and mountains in the background.

Israel, 2020

Carmen Köhler (right) and her colleague Anika Mehlis walking in the Makhtesh Ramon Crater in the Negev Desert. It is the world’s largest erosion crater and similar to known structures on the surface of Mars.

AMADEE-24 in Armenia: The test site at about 1100 meters elevation was selected for its geological and topographic similarity to Mars.

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The Ramon Crater is the world’s largest erosion crater and similar to known structures on the surface of Mars.

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Knowledge for the next generation

A Mars analog mission is a testing ground for a wide range of disciplines. Along with testing and developing technical equipment such as Mars rovers, Mars habitats and scientific equipment, the missions also look at how best to alleviate the physical and psychological stress of Mars explorations. The knowledge is mainly intended for the next generation of space explorers. “The first people to set foot on Mars have likely been born and are in school somewhere in the world right now,” says Gernot Grömer.

LANCOM Systems and the Austrian Space Forum have collaborated since 2012. LANCOM hardware was used for example in Morocco in 2013, Kaunertal Glacier in Tyrol, Austria in 2015 and in the mission in Armenia in spring 2024.

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