There is a synergistic relationship between analog field testing and the deep space telecommunication capabilities necessary for future human exploration. The BASALT (Biologic Analog Science Associated with Lava Terrains) research project developed and implemented a telecommunications architecture that serves as a high-fidelity analog of future telecommunication capabilities for Mars. This paper presents the architecture and its constituent elements. The rationale for the various protocols and radio frequency (RF) link types required to enable an interdisciplinary field mission are discussed, and the performance results from the BASALT field tests are provided. Extravehicular Informatics Backpacks (EVIB) designed for BASALT and tested by human subjects are also discussed, and the proceeding sections show how these prototype extravehicular activity (EVA) information systems can augment future human exploration. The paper concludes with an aggregate analysis of the data product types and data volumes generated, transferred, and utilized by the ground team and explorers over the course of the field deployments.
Keywords: Analog; BASALT; Communications architecture; Human planetary exploration; Mars.