On the Proper Antenna and Halfspace Simulation for Future Lunar Radio Astrophysics Missions

With renewed interest in lunar missions, prospects for lunar radio astronomy loom just over the horizon. Due to the low Size, Weight, Power, and Cost (SWaP-C) requirements in space missions and the low frequency range of the science desired, missions cannot rely on a ground plane to counteract the effects of the dielectric lunar soil and must accurately model its effects. The methods for simulating the lunar soil in the Ansys High Frequency Simulation Software, in both its Finite Element Method (FEM) and Integral Equation (IE) method, are presented. The lunar soil's effects are characterized on a simple dipole antenna for each of the simulation methods and compared to theoretical results. The potential use of these methods for future modeling of lunar based radio astronomy will be discussed.